Indiana Wesleyan University senior Erin Linker was awarded the Outstanding Intern Award at the IWU Internship Banquet on Tuesday, Aug. 29. The Career Development Office at IWU sponsors the banquet at the end of each semester to celebrate the interns and employers who participated in Accelerate Indiana, a grant-funded internship program. Linker, who was an intern participant during the summer term, was nominated for the award by her employer.
Linker spent the summer interning at CapeAble Sensory Products in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as a digital marketing/content writing intern. The company is a small start-up business that designs and manufactures therapeutic products, such as weighted blankets. Linker’s job duties included writing blogs, emails and website content. She is a triple major in English, Writing and Humanities.
“I’m extremely thrilled that Erin received this award. She became my right hand woman,” said Marna Pacheco, owner of CapeAble. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without her. She made IWU shine, and she represented it in a stellar way.”
Linker’s internship experience was made possible through the Accelerate Indiana Internship Program, which is funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. The program provides financial support to 20 interns per academic term and places them in an Indiana start-up business. Participating interns are paid $11 per hour.
“Coming into this internship I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into,” said Linker. “But I learned that sometimes you have to take risks to get results. To Indiana Wesleyan and Eli Lilly, I say thank you for the opportunity to learn, grow and earn a wage this summer.”
Earlier this month, several more IWU students began Accelerate Indiana internships around the state.
“For the last three years, we’ve been able to give startups a boost with paid interns while giving our students the kinds of experiences they need to succeed in their careers,” said Nathan Milner, internship coordinator at IWU. “This grant has truly been a win-win for our students and Indiana startups.”
For more information about Accelerate Indiana, visit iwuacceleratein.com.