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Getting The Most From Offering College Internships.

Dorian Cunion
Apr 27
3 min read

Updated: May 12

In the spring of 2025, I had the opportunity to take on an intern from the University of Richmond. The head of the Spider Hub reached out to ask if I would be interested in having a student work on my business as part of an independent study class. I jumped at the opportunity. In my mind, I was focused on the benefit of "free labor," but I ended up gaining so much more than I anticipated.

Blue and gray background with text "How to get the most from offering college internships." Wall with "Spider Business Hub" and partner logos.

Setting the Stage for College Interns

The intern was from China and had a background in marketing and psychology. Interestingly, I met her the previous year while participating in Q-Camp, a program the University of Richmond runs to improve career readiness for business students. She was highly interested in my company because of our unique focus on both business coaching and mental health therapy.

I had heard horror stories in the past about how challenging it can be to work with young students and how unreliable interns can be. Determined to set her up for success, I leveraged the Power6 Leader model—the same framework I use to coach business leaders—to set the stage for the internship.

The Power6 Leader program is built on the belief that a leader’s role is to build a culture of teamwork and protect team momentum. For this internship to be mutually beneficial, I knew we needed to establish:

A shared vision for success.
Authentic trust.
Clear goals and defined processes.
Guidance around decision-making
Defined roles and responsibilities.
A proactive method for handling conflict should it arise.

Crafting Win-Win Partnerships

Before our first meeting, I defined the scope of her project and gathered historical information she needed to understand my company’s goals. I also thought through our communication rhythm.

This preparation was only the first step. Everything I did was designed to foster true collaboration. When we finally met, I sought to understand her goals: what she hoped to gain from this experience. What prior experience had prepared her? What did she need from me to meet our objectives?

The time we spent early on getting to know one another and finding ways to help each other is exactly why the experience went so well. Her main deliverable was a marketing plan, which eventually expanded into a pitch deck for new clients. While not every draft was perfect, she saved me an immense amount of time by researching insights and producing collateral that I still use to market my business today.

A Growing Legacy

I enjoyed working with her so much that I offered her a paid internship that fall. During that time, she continued to build out marketing resources, helped me establish a consistent marketing process, and even taught me how to better train AI. My business is in a better place today because I brought her on board.

She was the first, but certainly not the last. This past January, I brought in an intern from Randolph-Macon College, and I am excited to welcome another intern this coming summer.

Offering College Internships

Over the last few years, I have developed relationships with internship coordinators at Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Richmond, and Randolph-Macon College. They have all shared a concerning trend: it is becoming harder to place students as large companies scale back their internship programs.

As someone who benefited significantly from an internship early in my career, I believe businesses have a responsibility to help develop tomorrow's leaders.

If you are interested in learning how to offer high-impact internship opportunities, reach out to me. I would love to help you craft a plan that maximizes the benefits for both you and the student. If you are based in Virginia, I can even help connect you with local colleges looking for partners.