At SDN Communications, our interns don't just observe—they jump right into the action, working alongside our team as if they were full-time employees.
This summer, we welcomed five interns: two in marketing, one in field service, and two in the network operations center.
Here's what they had to say about their experience with us:
Keaton Harvey, Field Service
What was your role during the internship?
I was a field service intern and most of my job consists of installing network switches all over the state and the surrounding states. We would get orders of where we needed to install equipment, and we would make trips based off the orders in the area. When we weren't on trips, we still had other things to do such as configuring the network switches.
What accomplishment during your internship are you most proud of?
I went on some trips to South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa by myself and had to problem solve when things didn't go as planned. For example, I had a switch installation at a cell tower, and I could not get the DC power to work. I realized I was plugged into a +24 fuse panel and had to switch to the correct -48 fuse panel. Now I have learned to check the fuse panel first and plug into the correct one.
What surprised you the most about your internship?
Before I started my internship I had a relatively small understanding of this industry, but now I have learned a lot and am looking forward to starting school with the extra knowledge I have gained.
What's next for you?
I will start my first year at Mitchell Tech in the Wi-Fi & Broadband program. I am in contract with SDN and I will be starting full-time at SDN in the summer of 2026.
Leah Schaefer, Marketing
What was your role during the internship?
My job as a marketing intern was to complete tasks such as write blog posts, post on social media accounts for SDN and SoDak Circuit, help assist with events, organize design materials, attend team meetings and much more. As a marketing intern, I assisted with the SDN Golf Classic by creating name tags, putting together bags for players and helping set up and attend the industry dinner with member companies and SDN employees. Along with these tasks, I was able to be at SDN while the team works toward the first SoDak Circuit esports event. I interviewed different gamers and member companies for blogs, put up posters, scheduled social media posts and more.
What accomplishment during your internship are you most proud of?
An accomplishment that I am most proud of during my internship is the member marketing meeting our team held. I took some of the responsibility with member communication and organizing our event. Our marketing team hosted five member marketers in person and six online from across the state. During the meeting, we discussed how we can best promote SoDak Circuit. For this event, I chose the spaces where we would have our time of networking and the learning space. I communicated with the members on what the event was going to look like and how we were going to complete our goal of marketing SoDak Circuit.
What surprised you the most about your internship?
I was surprised by how much I could learn in one summer. Sitting in on meetings with professionals in this career was extremely helpful. I found myself listening to people who had ideas that were new and innovative, day after day. There were a few ways that I was challenged by doing things that I had not done before — writing blogs was especially new for me. I wrote five to six blogs over the course of the summer and learned a ton about how to correctly and concisely portray stories professionally. I was challenged to think outside of the box and come up with ideas for social media posts, blog ideas and how events can be improved in the future.
What's next for you?
I am headed back to Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, where I will continue on with my major in marketing and minor in non-profit management. In May, I am getting married and then I will graduate in December of 2025 and start looking for jobs then. I would love to work with a marketing department like the one at SDN, in-house and getting to connect with a variety of people.
Megan Ives, Marketing
What was your role during the internship?
I worked in the marketing department as a graphic designer, where I created various visual assets, including social media graphics, digital icons and many physical products. A key focus was ensuring brand consistency across all my projects. Additionally, I was responsible for photography tasks throughout my internship.
What accomplishment during your internship are you most proud of?
I am particularly proud of my work with the SoDak Circuit esports event we are hosting on September 21, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. During my time at SDN Communications, I had the opportunity to design a range of materials for this event, including promotional handouts, the official poster, website banners, digital icons, online ads, social media graphics and more.
What surprised you the most about your internship?
What surprised me the most about this internship was the wide range of tasks. For instance, I might spend one hour designing an advertisement and the next hour taking photos for an upcoming company blog. This variety offers ample opportunities for creative exploration, enabling me to experiment with different techniques and apply a range of skills. Another surprising aspect of this internship was discovering the significant impact of my work. I was amazed to see how my designs and photos played a crucial role in shaping the marketing campaigns and enhancing the brand’s image. Watching how my visual assets were incorporated into various marketing materials and seeing their direct impact on audience engagement and brand perception was immensely rewarding.
What's next for you?
I’m not done yet! I will continue my journey at SDN Communications part-time as a Marketing Intern while completing my final four classes at South Dakota State University (SDSU). I’m set to graduate in May of 2025 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, along with a Studio Arts Minor and an Art History Certificate. During this time, I’ll be serving as the Visual Editor at the SDSU Collegian. My responsibilities at the SDSU Collegian include supervising the photography staff, photography, photo editing and creating graphics for various articles.
Phillip Brooks, Network Operations Center
What was your role during the internship?
I was working with both the Data Operations and Managed Services Operations. With data, I was a part of the rollout of new circuits to multiple different schools and libraries. I was also a part of travelling to cell sites when there were problems. With my time spent with Managed Services, I did multiple projects with Fortinet equipment and was exposed to customer interactions as well.
What accomplishment during your internship are you most proud of?
My biggest accomplishment I would say was how well I adapted to the environment here at SDN. The biggest project I helped with was a school project in southwestern Minnesota and was very proud of how I handled the new information I was learning. Eventually when the time came, I was able to go to a couple of sites about three hours away. That was a great experience interacting with customers and utilizing teamwork with the Data Operations team.
What surprised you the most about your internship?
I was very surprised with how much goes into each circuit built out to a customer and each type of circuit should be in place depending on who we are serving. There is so much information to learn about and everyone is willing to talk about everything they do. It was very easy to approach anyone in the NOC (Network Operations Center) and ask questions and they would be willing to help you better understand what you were confused about.
What's next for you?
I graduated Dakota State University in May of 2024 with a major in Cyber Operations and two minors — Network Security & Administration and Computer Forensics. I am currently pursuing a master’s degree in Cyber Defense exclusively online. I would like to expand on my defensive security and networking skills and hope to also complete some certifications as well.
Gabe Valle, Network Operations Center
What was your role during the internship?
I helped out around the office wherever help was needed. I was given larger projects to work on in the interim, and I helped save a lot of time for the others in the NOC by performing a wide variety of tasks for them.
What accomplishment during your internship are you most proud of?
One of the larger projects we were given was to remove a large number of ethernet cables in the digital headend (cable TV services) room. The room has a raised floor and a large number of ethernet and fiber cables run underneath. It was my task to investigate and tag any loose cables that were left behind after some equipment there was removed. After I tagged all of the cables, the other interns helped me pull them all up. What could have easily taken a week alone, we accomplished in a couple afternoons.
What surprised you the most about your internship?
Touring the La Mesa (data center) location was one of my favorite experiences I had during the internship. It is a really impressive place. I felt like I was in Charlie in the chocolate factory. I knew how the internet and networking worked in theory but actually seeing all the cables and equipment so neatly weaved around this massive bunker was a surreal experience for me.
There were a lot of things during my internship that hit me out of left field. I'd never actually handled fiber optic cable or the tools used to maintain it before. I'd never woven the end of an ethernet cable, either. I also didn't have any cable management skills, in general. Many of the configuration tasks I was given were not covered in my course material and I had to learn how to read our documentation and translate that into usable configurations. Another thing is the general office setting. I'd never been a part of such an interconnected team before. The methods of communication and terminology used during conversation were new to me. There was plenty of experience to be gained and I'm happy to have learned what I did.
What's next for you?
Now that the internship is over I'm going to finish out my degree before hopefully landing a full-time job in my chosen field. I am majoring in Network Security and Administration. I only have one course left, which I am taking through Dakota State University remotely. I don't have any specific company that I am in love with, but working at SDN has given me a glimpse of what a healthy workplace should look like and I hope to find one like it.
