Investing in the next generation of technology talent

People

Investing in the next generation of technology talent

Land O’Lakes is helping to bridge the digital divide

Like many high school juniors, Nina Dinh was feeling overwhelmed planning for college and a future career. What made it even more challenging is that English isn’t her first language.

“I was the first person in my family to go to college,” says Nina, who was just 9 when she and her family emigrated from Vietnam. “I didn’t know where to start.”

Thanks to a presentation at her school (Columbia Heights High School, just outside of Minneapolis), Nina learned about Genesys Works Twin Cities, a non-profit that provides year-long, part-time paid internships with local companies.

Nina, who wanted to pursue a career in IT, worked as an intern for the Desktop Deployment team at Land O’Lakes during her senior year in 2015, an arrangement that continued for the next four years while she obtained her Computer Science degree from the University of Minnesota.

Today, she’s a full-time Land O’Lakes employee.

“I really like the people and how they care for farmers and each other,” says Nina, who currently works as an IT analyst in the Vendor Management Office.

Building a pipeline of early-career talent

Since 2008, Land O’Lakes has provided more than 135 high school and college internships through Genesys Works at its corporate campus in Arden Hills, Minnesota. Chief Technology Officer Teddy Bekele has been a long-time executive sponsor and board member.

Six former interns currently work full-time at Land O’Lakes—including Nina, who also serves as co-lead of the program with Megan Giesen, senior technologist in the Data and Analytics organization.

“We’re investing in the program to help build a pipeline of early-career talent at Land O’Lakes,” says Megan. “The students get exposure to technology to build their resumes and gain confidence to get their foot in the door.”

In addition to tech, interns learn the foundational business skills needed to succeed in a corporate environment.

Real-world experience for students

Luke Kocon, Land O’Lakes IT manager, supervises two interns on his Telecommunications team.

“I lean on my interns to run the front lines of our mobile device platform—cell phones, tablets and hotspots,” says Luke. “I'm always impressed with how quickly they can jump in and solve problems. They’re a great complement to my team."

Not only do the students get real-world exposure to IT systems and components, but they’re also learning the foundational business skills needed to succeed in a corporate environment: things like time management, communications and networking.

Looking back, Nina is grateful for her experience—a path which inspired her two younger sisters to follow in her footsteps and graduate from the University of Minnesota.

“I was proud to be their role model and help pave the way for them,” she says. “My parents were super proud, too.”