How My Centene Internship Helped Me Find Confidence in My Career Path

When I accepted my internship with Centene’s Emerging Talent Attraction Solutions team, I felt like I was diving headfirst into unchartered waters.

My background is possibly the furthest thing from traditional for someone pursuing a communications or HR role. I’m getting my degree in atmospheric science, have spent summers working in genetics labs and cornfields, and have worked in retail for more than five years. I had never worked in a corporate environment before, and I wasn’t entirely sure where my career was headed.

However, what I did know was that I enjoyed working with people. Through college organizations and leadership roles, I discovered a passion for event planning and communications. I found myself energized by working with my peers to create events that uplifted my community and built lasting relationships between students and businesses.

Those experiences helped me recognize something I had always known deep down: I want to be a leader. The challenge was figuring out what that meant for me and how I would get there.

That’s what drew me to Emerging Talent Attraction Solutions. During my internship, I was given the opportunity to take a hands-on role in planning the intern summit, and, at times, felt like the face of the program. I frequently posted in Teams channels, reached out to my fellow interns to connect and make sure they knew they had someone to lean on, and helped bridge communication gaps so everyone could make the most of their experience.

These were exactly the types of things I had hoped I would be doing. More importantly, they gave me opportunities to practice the skills I was beginning to realize I wanted to use in my career: communicating, connecting with people, and taking initiative.

Coming into the internship, I worried that my background would make me stand out in a bad way. I questioned whether I was even worthy of the position.

Looking back, my degree didn’t hold me back, and neither did any of my work experience. If anything, they amplified my unique value. We all bring different skills and experiences to the table, and I learned it’s better to embrace what you know than criticize yourself for not being what you perceive to be ideal.

One of the biggest surprises came early in the summer: My team genuinely valued my opinions and input on projects.

I came into the internship expecting a student-mentor dynamic where I would do more observing and learning than contributing. Instead, I was trusted to share my perspective and take ownership of projects.

I also had the honor and privilege of being interviewed during a monthly Talent Attraction All Hands meeting, where I was asked about my internship experience and perspective.  I can’t express how grateful I was that my teammates showed such genuine interest in what I had to say. Three months earlier, the idea that so many people would care about my perspective would have seemed absurd to me.

A big part of my growth and professional development came from a simple mindset: Say yes to every opportunity in front of me.

Because I felt uncertain coming into this role, I challenged myself to step up whenever an opportunity presented itself. Whether it was participating in an interview or contributing to my team’s projects, those moments helped me gain the confidence I needed and expand my perspective.

Over time, saying yes continued to lead to bigger and better things.  

This internship taught me that I don’t need all the answers about my future right now, but what I do need is the confidence to stay curious.