Byrne has always been about championing powerful connections across the community and nowhere is that more evident than in their Annual Internship Program. Each year, the Byrne team welcomes young people to participate, helping provide extensive experience in molding, manufacturing, marketing, human resources, sales, engineering, Hospitality + Events and finance. These internships may not take place in a classroom, but it’s a valuable education these students could only find in a real-world business setting.
Dan Byrne, Byrne’s CEO, says he remembers the program actually originating back in the late-1990’s with Susan Mead, a 25 year retired veteran of Byrne, with a teaching degree. A longtime teacher prior to her years at Byrne, Susan was understandably passionate about educating young people and encouraged some of her school colleagues to recommend students who could come in and spend time at Byrne. Susan pioneered this ad hoc initiative and grew it into a more official undertaking over the next decade. Since then, the Byrne team has recruited through colleges, as well as employment websites and social media postings. Dan, also a member of the Young President’s Organization, a global leadership organization that focuses on lifelong learning and encourages leadership, has supported the global community of young people by posting openings through their global network to draw candidates from across the globe. For more information on the Young President’s Organization visit their website here - https://www.ypo.org/
Then, in 2020, things changed. While the program did offer a few virtual internships, in-person participation was forced to hit pause due to pandemic restrictions and many at Byrne found themselves deeply missing the arrival of the new interns. “These kids come from diverse backgrounds and varied life experiences. They’re volunteers, they’re leaders on their college campuses, but they all share a real willingness to learn,” says Shannon Kelly, a Human Resource hiring expert currently managing the Byrne internship program. “There’s a lot of talent out there. These young people generate great ideas, year after year, and help even our veteran employees look at problems in creative new ways.”
Out of the nearly 80 interns that have spent either a summer or winter session at Byrne, several have been offered professional positions with 15 permanently joining the Byrne team. Brent Showers, a Byrne intern in 2019, was brought on as a full-time employee following his graduation from Davenport and now works as a Business Systems Analyst. “The biggest thing that my internship gave me was an understanding of the work environment. Being a family-owned company, it felt like a really different experience. During my internship, I could see myself spending every day here and coming to work to enjoy some great relationship – and a lot of fun.”
Every intern, regardless of the department they’ll be joining, has the unique opportunity to spend a week on the manufacturing floor as part of Byrne’s required onboarding program. It’s a practice that applies to new each new employee as well, and is a pivotal part of understanding Byrne products and practices from the ground up. Of course, Byrne’s “work hard, play hard” philosophy also includes their interns, as these young people become a big part of the company’s team building activities and events.
When it is finally time to head back to school, each intern ends their Byrne journey with a report-out of the projects they were involved with, the knowledge they gained, and an evaluation of their time working with the company. “We’ve become domain experts on internships,” says HR Director Sandy Buchanich. “Through these programs we support our community and share our talents with this next generation, but we reap countless benefits as well. We increase our bandwidth, expand our culture and even help to create an incredible pool of talented candidates who may join our team as full-time employees.” For Byrne students and employees alike, it’s a culture of good will that often extends far beyond the length of the internship itself.
This year marks 50 years in business for Byrne – a milestone that has meant looking back at how far they’ve come, as well as looking forward to all that’s ahead. For a company built on embracing community, their annual internship program is just one more way to help power the potential of young people across west Michigan and across the globe. From long-standing employees to the interns themselves, the program continues to be about celebrating talent, diversity, hard work, and innovative new ideas – and remembering that we all have something valuable to offer.
For more information on Byrne’s Internship Program, contact Yani Castro at 616.780.4660 or castroy@byrne.com.
