What’s It Like to Be Part of a GREAT Internship Program? A Former Intern Gives You the Scoop

When it comes to finding an internship, we know you don’t just want to settle; you want to find the one. No company knows how important student-internship match is more than Aramark, a leading food, facilities management, and uniforms services provider. That’s why they’ve crafted an amazing 10-12 week internship program called Step Up to Leadership to help college students get hands-on experience working in industries they’re interested in.

To give you in the inside scoop, we talked to Anthony Felix, a Communications Specialist at Aramark (and 2015 graduate of St. John’s University!) about how valuable the Step Up to Leadership (S2L) program was for him.

What drew you to working at Aramark and joining its S2L program in particular?

Anthony Felix: In school I knew I had a lot to learn outside of the classroom in order to be the man I wanted to be. Aramark’s S2L program wasn’t just a paid internship but a real learning experience. I could really see that the program wanted to teach me how to be that leader I imagined I’d be and allow me to learn from the mistakes I’d make along the way.    

What is your biggest learning from your S2L internship?

AF: The biggest thing I learned from my internship was how to navigate the workspace. Going into a new job is always a learning experience to start out, but understanding how and when to speak up is a trait that I really developed during my internship. Now, whenever I start a new role, I feel comfortable enough to find out what I need to hit the ground running.

What advice do you have for students applying to the S2L program?

AF: Come into the program with an open mind and open ears. While you’ll have real hands-on experience, you are still learning the ropes of how to be successful. Be ready to step out of the comfort zone and be challenged but really soak it all in and learn the things you need to improve on in order to be successful.

How did you know you were performing well during the S2L program? How does Aramark track and measure success in this role?

AF: I had pretty regular conversations with my manager to gauge how I was doing in addition the mid-program and end-of-program assessments. Receiving the constant and honest feedback helped me improve what I needed to in order to receive a recommendation at the end of the S2L program.

What’s something surprising about working at Aramark that most people wouldn’t know?

AF: I was surprised to see how close the Aramark family can be. When a large company has 270,000 employees around the world, you’d think everyone is a small fish in a big pond, but the successes at your account and with your team are your successes and really shine through all the way to the top. The COOs and the CEO really do notice effort and hard work.

What makes Aramark an incredible place to work?

AF: The diversity of opportunities that Aramark make it a great place to not only work, but grow. I could spend part of my career working in sports through the sports and entertainment line of business, switch to the healthcare business, and then later work at a college. There’s a unique opportunity to switch industries throughout my career, but I’ll never have to leave Aramark.

Sound like an amazing opportunity? We certainly think so! Apply to Aramark’s Step Up to Leadership positions on WayUp now!