Celebrating Piedmont’s 2024 Summer Interns on National Intern Day
Here at Piedmont, we thrive on fresh ideas and cultivating the next generation of aviation professionals. That’s why we’re committed to providing internship opportunities throughout the year. Our internships are open to current or recent college graduates from any discipline, offering invaluable real-world experience in the aviation industry.
Piedmont’s Internship Program is designed to help interns sharpen their skills within one of the leading regional airlines. Our interns can work on impactful final projects that make a lasting difference here at Piedmont. They also get the opportunity to travel nationwide, attending various events and conferences to build networks across our company.
Internship positions are available year-round in departments such as Human Resources, Marketing, Diversity & Inclusion, Finance, Safety, and more. Stay updated on new openings by following us on LinkedIn and checking the Piedmont Careers page regularly.
In honor of National Intern Day, we are proud to showcase our Summer 2024 interns.
Lana Bivins
Human Resources Employee Relations Intern
Location: CLT
School: The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Degree: Management with a Concentration in Human Resources
Favorite Vacation Destination: The Great Smokey Mountains
In my role as an HR intern, I work on contributing to investigations, accommodations, terminations, employment verifications, and personal data changes. What I do daily is always changing, as there is something different each day! I also work alongside the HR manager, generalist, and complaint specialist, to help them with delegated tasks.
How do you think this internship will help you in the future?
I think this internship will help me in the future by exposing me to new experiences and information that will benefit me in my future career. My time interning with Piedmont has already helped solidify my desire to work in Human Resources after graduation and has greatly expanded my knowledge. I have enjoyed this opportunity to work with the Piedmont team in Charlotte, and they have taught me so much about not only HR, but also the airline industry and what it is like to work alongside a union. I want to give an extra “thank you” to Tracey Byrns, Brittany Jones, and Kevin Harris for teaching me everything they have about working here and for being great mentors. I look forward to learning even more before the conclusion of my internship in December 2024.
What advice would you give to future Piedmont interns?
I would advise future Piedmont Interns to always be open to new experiences and to ask questions! This hands-on experience provides a great learning atmosphere, and it is important to absorb as much as possible during it. If you ever have a question, ask it, because it will help you gain further insight and understanding. Also, enjoy it! Working for an airline such as Piedmont is a unique experience that you should take the time to appreciate and enjoy.
Lili James
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Communications Intern
Location: CLT
School: University of Cincinnati
Degree: Communications
Favorite Vacation Destination: St. Kitts and Nevis
Piedmont Airlines has been such a great opportunity and I cannot believe that we’re already halfway done. I feel so grateful to have worked for Piedmont’s Corporate Communications division under my manager, Matthew and director, Crystal. Throughout this internship, I have been able to learn first-hand how airlines operate (especially within communications and diversity). I was able to write stories, interview my colleagues, and foster relationships with Piedmont executives. I even got the chance to visit a few of our stations to increase interest and understanding within community and belonging here at Piedmont.
What’s one thing you didn’t expect to learn?
I didn’t expect to truly learn the ins and outs of corporate communications. I expected to spend my summer completing busy work, that of which would have no real impact. On my first day I was thrown into real work. I was acknowledged as part of the team, not just “help”. Because of this, I learned how to communicate to a broad group of people. I was able to take the lead on many projects, which taught me how to organize my time to make deadlines and how to work with my colleagues to create something great.
What advice would you give to future Piedmont interns?
Take it all in. I have made so many new connections and met mentors that I know I’ll be in touch with them forever. Just be open to every new opportunity because you don’t know what memories you’d make or the things you’d learn.
Salina Kidane
Travel Intern
Location: MDT/ SSO offices
School: California University of Pennsylvania
Degree: Global Studies
Favorite Vacation Destination: Tuscany, Italy
The Travel team here at Piedmont has been a great opportunity to get my foot in the door. Working alongside Holly, Shakena, and under my manager Samantha, has been a great experience. Working within the company to assist team members with their travel inquiries and being able to make their travel experience in the background efficient has taught me about the many moving parts that are within a company.
What are some highlights or key takeaways from your experience so far?
My takeaways from my internship experience in the travel department is the information I have received regarding travel and the aviation sector in general. I’ve never worked in the airline industry and now it has allowed me to meet people from all over the country as well as learning crucial skills to navigate the fast-paced airline world. Being open to exploring options I have never considered before may be my biggest takeaway from this experience.
What advice would you give to future Piedmont interns?
The advice I would give to future interns would be to be open to learning as much information as you can from your team, this will prepare you for your career beyond your internship. Another piece of advice would be to allow yourself to be uncomfortable, when you’re in your comfort zone it can be a bit difficult to understand what career path you want to pursue. In doing so you will also be much prepared for whatever professional and life opportunities come your way.
Shashank Kumar
Flight and Maintenance Safety Intern
Location: SBY
School: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Degree: Master of Science in Safety Science
Favorite vacation destination: The flight is more important than the destination 😊
Starting from the recruiter’s initial email expressing his interest to conduct an interview – to this day, sitting at my desk as I write this – it has been a tremendous experience! My passion for aviation safety is growing stronger as I learn how Safety Management Systems (SMS) work – in practice – versus studying about the technical aspects of it in college. Our team has been extremely supportive of my learning curve and helped me build my personal and professional skills. I will cherish these connections built here at Piedmont forever!
What has been most rewarding so far?
I moved across the country, from Arizona all the way to Salisbury, MD for the internship! That was only the first reward, but above and beyond that, my colleagues, the solutions the entire organization develops and benefits from, all of that motivates me to keep improving – analogous to my “favorite destination”, the process is more rewarding than the result!
What advice would you give future Piedmont Interns?
Make the most of your time with Piedmont! That can be said about learning the skills for your job, interacting with the everyone and making great connections, traveling for work or leisure, and having a lot of fun!
Aldin Velagic
Financial Planning and Analysis Intern
Location: CLT
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Degree: Finance
Favorite Vacation Destination: Bosnia and Herzegovina
I am an FP&A Intern this summer at Piedmont Airlines. I work with a team of five people in the Finance Department. I work with data from different stations and different categories to be able to make visual representations of the data per category to be able to give a forecast for the specific category and then being able to see the actual vs the forecasted amounts.
Can you share a moment when you felt proud of your work this summer?
A moment when I felt proud of my work this summer was completing my first couple of projects at Piedmont Airlines. Starting off they looked confusing, and I wasn’t sure on how to do them but after finishing and getting approval from my team it made me feel accomplished.
What advice would you give to future Piedmont interns?
You will never know if you don’t ask. Don’t be scared to going around and meeting new people. Establishing connections and relationships is one of the most important things to be comfortable with doing and once you get comfortable with making those connections you will have so much more fun within the organization.
Ashley Womack
Human Resources Employee Relations Intern
Location: DCA
University of Maryland Global Campus
Degree: Human Resource Management
Favorite Vacation Destination: Florida
As the Human Resource Employee Relations Intern, I work with all things related to employee investigations and accommodations. In terms of investigations, I have reviewed and requested documentation, visited field offices, and made suggestions for matters pertaining to HR violations. In terms of accommodations, I have read over accommodation request forms and made suggestions on what we as HR should recommend and present to the employee. I have also been given the opportunity to learn a little about the inner operations of an airline such as ramp and gate management as well as training operations.
What has been a learning curve for you, and how did you overcome that?
With me coming from a nonprofit organization, which was a small woman-owned business. I had minimal experience in a large company setting and zero experience working in the aviation industry. I have just recently started at Piedmont, so I wouldn’t say that I have overcome it just yet. I am just taking it one step at a time, learning and adjusting as I go along.
What advice would you give to future Piedmont interns?
Make connections! Don’t stay holed up in your office or at your desk. Get to know people so you can give yourself the chance to build connections that may come in handy in the future. Whether you stay at Piedmont or leave following your internship.