Employee Spotlight: People Services Intern Edition

The National Heritage Academies (NHA) summer internship program prepares college students for the real world by working on meaningful projects, making connections, and transforming lives.
 
The formal program at the NHA Service Center launched five years ago with the goal of bringing together college employees working for NHA over the summer. This program isn’t just busy work, filing, or data entry – it’s meaningful work that makes a difference. A lot happens over the summer to ensure schools are successful in the fall, and interns are vital to this purpose.
 
“We want interns to have a shared experience, and one that they could talk about back at their schools to help bring more exposure to NHA as a great place to work,” said Dave Wiltjer, director of talent solutions at NHA. “Interns do real work as employees of NHA and have an impact on bottom line results for their departments. In addition to their work experience, they are given opportunities to talk and interact with other interns and employees across the organization including leadership.”
 
NHA has hired many interns over the years, and many are still with the organization today. “We are proud of the program and the opportunity we provide to students to learn and grow in a real-life environment,” said Wiltjer.
 
Meet the People Services interns!
 
Sofie Jetton, PS Business Partner Intern



As the Business Partner intern, Sofie leads the many aspects of the summer school project from a People Services perspective, quickly learning complex processes and stepping in with leadership where needed. All of these things will help her as she completes her studies in Human Resources at Eastern Michigan University.
 
Sofie sees her internship as a growth opportunity, as well as a chance to put in action everything she’s learned through her academic career. “I believe that NHA is an organization whose values align with my own, and that is something that was deeply important to me when I applied,” she said.
 
Sofie is excited to leave her mark through working with summer school. “I love seeing this process and effort in motion and am looking forward to helping shape what future summers may look like.”
 
So far into her internship, Sofie’s favorite thing is her team. “I cannot stress enough how welcoming and helpful everyone I met has been,” she said. “They have made every day of this internship incredible.”
 
Tommy Lamberg, PS Marketing Tech/Social Media Intern


 
As the People Services Marketing Technology and Social Media Intern, Tommy posts on the NHA Teachers Instagram, analyzes social media metrics, creates social media ads, edits video and podcast clips, and creates relationships with teacher influencers. He also takes charge of the YouTube posting calendar and new subscriber strategy for The Teacher’s Lounge channel, with a goal of gaining 100 new YouTube subscribers over the summer.
 
Tommy studies Marketing at Miami University in Ohio. He wanted to intern at NHA to grow as a professional and gain experience in marketing. He heard NHA was a great place to work, and he wanted to be part of it.

Tommy is motivated by getting to see people engage with the content he creates and receiving feedback on where he can grow. While he’s excited about what’s to come, his favorite part of his internship so far has been the amount of creative freedom he’s been given. “I have had the opportunity to try a variety of marketing strategies and am learning what works well and what does not work in many different situations,” said Tommy.
 
Anna Bielecki, Credentialing Intern


 
As a Credentialing Intern, Anna will support summer school, master scheduling, professional development, and other projects assigned by the Credentialing team.
 
As a student of Human Capital and Society at Michigan State University, Anna was drawn to the welcoming culture at NHA. “I strive to work for a company that makes a real difference in people’s lives, and it is clear NHA impacts many people,” she said.
 
She’s excited to grow in her role and expand her skills, as well as learn about other People Services opportunities to pursue after she graduates. So far, her favorite part of her internship has been meeting the other interns and working with the Credentialing team.
 
Jake Wiltjer, PS Project Assistant Intern


 
Jake will support the Talent Solutions Department with various special projects to include ERP testing, helping to build out the job description platform, creation of job postings, etc.
Jake studies Finance at Western Michigan University.
 
Jake is familiar with NHA as Dave Wiltjer’s son. “He has always been passionate about his job, and I wanted to see why,” said Jake.