Mediacom Communications honored its 2010 intern class with a luncheon.
The operator saluted the seven students involved with educational endeavor by breaking bread on Aug. 12.
Formally established in 2007, the Mediacom internship program offers undergraduate and graduate level students the opportunity to gain experience in their field, create a network of contacts and obtain college credits. Mediacom, which is based in Middletown, N.Y., has established relationships with nearby schools Marist College, Mount Saint Mary College, Pace University and SUNY New Paltz to recruit interns for the program.
"Our company has been able to create a talented and diverse workforce at our Middletown headquarters and Goshen engineering lab by making it a priority to hire some of the best and brightest students from our local universities," said Italia Commisso Weinand, Mediacom senior vice presidnet of human resources and programming in a statement."Some of the success we have enjoyed in our recruitment and development efforts is a direct result of our internship program."
Mediacom also supports higher education via scholarship funding. The MSO has allocated some $400,000 in college scholarships to the children of its employees to honor the fallen heroes that lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
According to the company, the seven students that participated in its summer 2010 internship program worked in specialty areas including accounting, engineering, information technology, legal, marketing, operations and tax.
As part of her program, Diana Ortiz, recently honored as the SUNY New Paltz student leader of the year, was given the responsibility of developing a newsletter for Mediacom's government relations team.
For her part, Caitlin Hinchey, one of four Marist College students participating in the program this year, received hands-on training, working alongside Mediacom tax and accounting professionals.
Many of the past participants in Mediacom's internship program have returned to work for the nation's eighth-largest cabe operator as full-time employees after graduation. Human resources manager Jacqueline Kornet, started with Mediacom as an intern in February of 2008, while pursuing her MBA in management at SUNY New Paltz.
"My internship was the beginning of what has become an exciting career at Mediacom," said Kornet in a statement. "I was given the opportunity to learn as much as I wanted to learn, travel to Mediacom locations across the nation and really grow as a professional."
Sasha Torabi, a recently promoted manager in financial operations, worked as an intern while pursuing his MBA in finance at SUNY New Paltz. Torabi visited with Mediacom chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso, at the conclusion of his summer internship in August 2008.
"It was really nice to sit with Mr. Commisso and give feedback about the program. There are not many companies where an intern would be given that chance," said Torabi.
Mediacom's internship program and recruiting efforts drew two thumbs up from Hadi Salavitabar, Dean of the School of Business at SUNY New Paltz.
"Mediacom, under the excellent leadership of Mr. Commisso, has been a role model and leader in the regional business community and beyond in providing internship opportunities for students and job opportunities for graduates and residents of our region," he said, adding "we are very lucky to have Mediacom in our region."
