At Solvate we are in the awesome position of working with a who’s who list of the best independent professionals in the country. We’ve worked with over 100 Solvate Talent on our business, on projects short and long, from Marlene Edelmire, our Executive Assistant, to Amanda Sanguinet on market research and our marketing on AdWords.

This summer we went out of our network for a special job – we needed a summer intern, and we turned to Step Up, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting and advancing women and girls.

We found the amazing and talented Shalon Bujan, and encourage friends of Solvate to consider working with a Step Up intern next time summer rolls around.

Here’s what Shalon had to say about her experience at Solvate:

Hi!  My name is Shalon Bujan, and I’m Solvate’s summer intern. I’m a rising junior at The Young Women Leadership High School, and was placed at Solvate through Step Up Young Luminaries Program. Step Up Young Luminaries is a career development program that prepares young women for placement in paid summer internships through working on resume writing, interviewing, networking, public speaking, and financial management. Companies volunteer to host an intern through Step Up’s program, and then interview interested candidates.  After the interview process, interns are matched to work at companies where there is mutual interest.

I selected Solvate because the I like startups and the Solvate team is super diverse and dedicated to their cause — revolutionizing the way people work. I like their business model — connecting vetted Talent with clients — and was excited to be exposed to so many different people.  With several hundred members in the Talent Network alone, I knew I would have the opportunity to meet and learn from many different people from different walks of life.

Working at Solvate this summer was a wonderful experience. I learned that I wasn’t as computer inclined as I thought I was, because these people — Solvate Employees and Talent —  are amazing! The work load was challenging, but it was satisfying to realize I could handle it. Through helping organize Talent data, I was introduced to Salesforce for the first time.  I also researched local events that the Recruitment Team could attend, and created a team calendar using GoogleApps.  I categorized the creative Talent’s portfolios, and got a taste of social media through building new lists in Twitter to follow Talent and Clients.

Most importantly, I learned a lot about the business world, and came to realize that no two businesses are the same.  Solvate’s clients all have different needs and pain points, and Solvate Talent all have different skills and services.  There are endless ways to connect the two and help each other.  I leave my Solvate internship both surprised and inspired  by the many career opportunities out there, and the things that people can achieve when working together.