Aric Burks
Senior, Arizona State University
My time at Kaiser Permanente has been life changing. I have gained so many new experiences during my time here and have learned an incredible amount of information regarding the inner workings of the company. As an Environmental Health & Safety intern, one of my main jobs was to ensure the proper disposal of hazardous waste into the proper bin designation. If department managers or staff had questions or concerns regarding these practices, I would educate them to ensure the correction of these behaviors. During my first summer at Kaiser Permanente, I created multiple documents that mapped out the location of the most in one RCRA bins in all the medical office buildings and hospitals in the Downey Service Area. These documents were later updated my second summer to ensure that they may continue to be utilized by our contracted hazardous waste service affiliate, Clean Harbors. I also sat through various meetings, multiple training sessions and completed more than 50 KP Learn training modules to ensure a holistic understanding of EH&S’ role within Kaiser Permanente. Other activities included: trash rounds, hazardous waste binder dispersal, ordering and dispersing additional waste bins, creating visuals and leading part of the Safety Fair earlier this July, and completing compliance rounds prior to the joint commission evaluation last year. In essence, my role at Kaiser Permanente has been focused on improving efficiency, fluidity, and understanding regarding waste and safety protocols for the Downey Service Area so that fines and environmental violations can be avoided. I love the KP family and how they prioritize the presence of healthy relationships in healthcare and I hope to be a member of the team one day.
Osha Irvin
Senior, University of California, Riverside
For the past two summers, I’ve had the privilege of interning in the General Accounting Department at the Regional Office in Pasadena, CA. I’ll never forget my first day, I was extremely nervous because I knew that my supervisors and colleagues would be the best of the best and I wanted to show them why I was chosen to intern with the General Accounting Department. During the duration of my internship, I worked with the operating expense team in assisting them with month-end close. My duties included: processing journal entries, completing account reconciliations, and data analysis. I was fortunate to have two different supervisors over the course of my two summers here which allowed me to learn different skill sets that will be essential in my Accounting career. Not only was my superiors heavily involved in my development and growth, but the entire operating expense team as well. I was given the opportunity to have meetings with key managers and directors in the Accounting Department to go over my career goals, my duties at KP, and an infinite amount of advice that would help clearly guide my journey towards becoming a CPA.
I would like to thank my program advisor Maylynn Melendez for all that she does. Not only does Maylynn work with us to get an internship, but she also mentors each of us during the duration of our academic year. Maylynn calls every month to check on our progress, go over personal goals, INROADS agendas, or just anything we want to talk about. College can be very scary and if you don’t have a good support system, it can be lonely. Maylynn has always supported me when I was feeling overwhelmed or just wanted to give up. She constantly reminded me of why I’m in college and that is to become the best version of myself so that I can be a positive role model for my family and community. Because of Maylynn and INROADS I am who I am today. INROADS thrives off of giving back , so it’s only right for me to reciprocate that love and dedication to others.
David Palomares
Junior, University of California, Berkeley
My name is Juan David Palomares and I am a rising Junior at the University of California, Berkeley, double majoring in Cognitive and Data Science. My path to college was not very traditional. I was born in Bogota, Colombia and moved to Los Angeles when I was five, and the rest of my family still lives there. Due to this, I never had a mentor to guide me with the college process. I had to be very resourceful and find my path on my own. I have always been very interested in entrepreneurship and having my own business, so I thought I was going to major in Business Administration at Cal. I decided not to major in business after all and to pursue a career that gives me technical skills that I can later apply to a business venture I may choose to begin. Due to my change in major, I was having trouble finding a relevant internship, until an older friend of mine told me about INROADS. I immediately applied and got in contact with MayLynn Melendez, who has been extremely helpful and has gone the extra mile to make sure I find the right internship for me. I worked at Kaiser Permanente’s National Compliance Office this summer, doing a lot of data analysis, audits, and reports. I had a great summer thanks to INROADS and am excited for what is to come next! ”