When Daniel Ogunrinde started college, he knew he’d have to do an internship eventually.
The problem was, he didn’t quite know how to get one. Two years ago, he tried to apply for several, but missed the early fall deadlines.
This year, though, things were different. Ogunrinde, an incoming senior at Marian University, connected with 16 Tech and got accepted into a new internship program called Talent Access.
The pilot program that launched this summer connects “high potential, high need” high school and college students with summer internships at Indianapolis companies. But 16 Tech also provides interns resources such as housing or transportation to help students learn and thrive.
As universities continue to combine work experience with academic programs, internships are increasingly essential for college students. Research shows employers value internship experience, and that it can be a deciding factor when considering a candidate.
But internships can be inaccessible for some low-income students.
A 2023 survey of college students found that 41% of college interns were unpaid, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Another survey published in 2024 found nearly two-thirds of college students work while in school. For those students, giving up a summer to work without pay could be a tough sell.
That’s where 16 Tech hopes to do things differently.
Tracey Jackson, the organization’s vice president of talent, innovation and community, wants interns to be able to fully concentrate on learning and making connections, not thinking about how they’ll pay their bills.
“We’re giving students an opportunity to focus on the internship and getting the knowledge,” said Jackson, “and not have to worry about, ‘Where am I going to lay my head? Do I have money to eat?’”
‘Opportunity is everywhere’
For Jackson, supporting interns meant removing as many barriers as possible for the Talent Access students.
That, of course, meant the summer internships would be paid. Students make $20 an hour. But the support goes far beyond that.
16 Tech partnered with Purdue University to allow interns in need of housing to live in the university’s student apartments downtown for the summer, so they wouldn’t have to search and pay for their own.
Students can also get gas stipends, or even free Uber rides if they don’t have cars, to get to work. Jackson is also working with local organizations such as Dress for Success to help interns get professional clothes, if they need them. To help with mental health, Jackson said, interns participated in a training about processing stress with Peak Mind, a company that aims to reduce workplace stress through virtual reality.
But support doesn’t mean just wraparound services. Every Friday, students come to 16 Tech for a day of networking and professional development. They’ve met with Indianapolis business leaders such as Dennis Murphy, president and CEO of IU Health.
Jackson hopes that 16 Tech’s supportive model will become more standard in Indiana, so that more and more students will be able to take advantage of internship opportunities.
“I’m a firm believer that opportunity is everywhere, access is not. If you can make opportunity accessible, we can create a strong talent pipeline of future leaders,” Jackson said.
“We can’t just keep doing things the way we’ve always done them. The world has changed.”
Imagining the future
Ogunrinde didn’t want to sit at a desk all summer.
During his interviews for the internship, Ogunrinde talked about how much he wanted a job where he could be hands-on. Most of his engineering classes had him designing blueprints or models on the back end, and he wanted a different kind of experience.
That’s how he got paired with Plastic Recycling, Inc. on the west side, working with the lead fabricator to weld, rig and design plastic products.
The experience has been “eye-opening,” Ogunrinde said, and it’s far beyond what he’d get to experience in a classroom setting.
“The level of education I’m getting about the workforce without actually fully being in it as of right now is so powerful,” he said. “You’re still in school, but you’re getting the experience, you’re testing the waters, and you’re seeing what works and what doesn’t work.”
Testing the waters has worked well for Ogunrinde. Recently, he transitioned to working on his own project: designing and building an item that will test and assess Plastic Recycling’s secondhand motors.
In just a few months, Ogunrinde said he’s learned a lot about how to be a better engineer. And he’s hopeful these new skills and connections will help him get a job where he’s able to work with his hands every day after he graduates.
“It’s 1,000% reinforced my mindset of what it is I want to do,” he said.
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Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire by email claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org, at 317-759-0249 or on most social media @clairerafford.
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