Following Our Own Best Practices: Internship, T-STEP, and The Diversity Movement

Author’s Note: As DEI experts, The Diversity Movement often advises client organizations to recruit and hire interns from underrepresented groups and become mentors or sponsors to increase belonging (which leads to greater bottom-line results). We recognize the impact of internships, mentorship, and sponsorship, and are committed to modeling the best practices we recommend throughout our own organization. This article is just one example.

In the early Fall of 2021, I received my first email from the T-STEP program at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine in partnership with Wake Tech Community College. They were looking for volunteers to mentor unpaid interns for the duration of a school semester. As the Programming and Curriculum Manager at a small but fast-growing company, the thought of securing an eager, qualified intern for 3 months was a dream!