The Leland Intern Class of 2024

Here at Leland, we pride ourselves on building communities of great people – from our coaches to our users, and especially to our team. An integral part of that team is our interns, who are some of the brightest, most ambitious, and most competent young minds out there (in our humble, unbiased opinion). We are very excited to introduce you to our intern class of 2024. If you’re interested in joining this incredible squad, make sure to check out our open positions.

Isabella P. 

• Internship: Events & Campus Relations
• School: UC Berkeley
• Past Experience: Strategy&, Visa, Cisco, Lancôme

Why did you choose to intern at Leland?

I wanted to intern at Leland to be a part of a fast-growing startup doing a lot of amazing things in the education space. I’ve always been really interested in the Edtech niche and have been a part of initiatives that strive for equity in education, so Leland seemed like the perfect place I could learn a lot from, while supporting a mission I was passionate about.

What advice do you have for other students seeking internships?

Use your network! You hear this phrase thrown out a lot, but I don’t think I truly realized the value of reaching out to connections, friends, mentors, etc. for support in recruiting. You’re never in it alone, and there are plenty of people a few steps ahead of you in your career path that you can always reach out to for advice. Even at Leland, all the coaches here are very willing to help out, and you’ll find no shortage of mentorship wherever you go — as long as you reach out!

One of our core values is Celebrating Stories. What’s one of your proudest moments to celebrate?

One of my proudest moments to celebrate would probably be getting into the Haas Business School at Berkeley. At Cal, you have to apply to get the major you want, and some majors are more limited than others. The Haas application was very competitive and relatively extensive, with a video interview, essays, and resume submission. I was equally shocked, happy, and proud when I did end up getting in, and I’ve learned a lot since then.

Nataraj S. 

• Internship: Content Strategy & Growth
• School: University of Maryland
• Past Experience: Capital One, AARP, Proctor & Gamble, AAMC, The Diamondback

What’s your favorite part about being at Leland?

My favorite part about working for Leland is how everyone is open to new ideas, experimenting and learning. It feels like you're growing alongside the company.

What is something new you’ve learned since joining the Leland team?

I've learned the value of "building in public." By defaulting to public Slack channels and open communications, there's a lot more opportunity for collaboration, visibility, and shared knowledge.

What’s your biggest win at Leland so far?

We're gearing up to launch the product management category for Leland+, and have some incredible content through new strategies I've had the opportunity to help implement.

If you could coach for anything, what would it be?

Failure (leading to great success).

Chase E.

• Internship: Sales
• School: Brigham Young University
• Past Experience: G2, Particl, Culligan International, Breakout Studio

What’s your favorite part about being at Leland? 

The people and the culture they've created. Not only do we have a good time (the virtual magic show is a highlight), but I also feel trusted and like my voice matters to the opinion of everyone in the room, something that an intern doesn't often get.

What advice do you have for other students seeking internships?

Just because you don't have an internship yet doesn't mean it's over. Last summer I landed an awesome internship at a company out in Chicago and my final round interview was actually held on the same day as my last final for the winter semester (yes, by that point I had been panicking for a few months about what I was going to do). I started a month later out in Chicago and it was great and exactly what I needed. Keep networking, scouring job boards, and being scrappy. It'll all work out, it always does.

What’s your biggest win at Leland so far?

The biggest win is what I took away from this internship. Not only did I get the experience of having a client-facing role that handles the complete sales cycle (hadn't had that experience prior), but I also got to watch and learn from the brilliant minds that are driving Leland to be on the upward trajectory we're currently on. #LelandtotheMoon

If you could coach for anything, what would it be?

How to consume an absurd amount of cereal in a day.

Rachel L.

• Internship: Editorial Content Strategy
• School: George Washington University
• Past Experience: US Department of Transportation, GWU, AJ Tutoring

What’s your favorite part about being at Leland?

I would say the level of responsibility and respect. A lot of internships are just completing to-do lists and paper-pushing, but I feel like I have a real say in our SEO strategy and am trusted to do what I think is best.

What advice do you have for other students seeking internships?

Don’t feel bad if you’re not landing the fanciest internships, or any at all! The market is awful right now. My only rule for internships is to never work for free: your time and labor are valuable!

If you could coach for anything, what would it be?

Academic writing, I’ve always been the go-to essay editor in my friend groups.

Vatsal B. 

• Internship: Growth
• School: University of Virginia
• Past Experience: Accenture, Capital One, FedTech

Why did you choose to intern at Leland?

I wanted to intern at Leland because of the problem it was solving and how closely I could resonate with it. That coupled with a team of extremely impressive folks made it obvious that I wanted to be there.

What is something new you’ve learned since joining the Leland team?

One thing I have learned since joining the Leland team is how much effort it takes to execute even the smallest tasks sometimes. When working in a lean startup, every piece of the process feels much closer and more daunting than at a larger org.

If you could coach for anything, what would it be?

If I could coach for anything it would be financial literacy. Growing up I have had many friends who unfortunately lacked a level of financial stability and literacy and therefore I often try to coach (informally) those around me and prepare them for the future as best as I can.

Nolan C.

• Internship: Growth
• School: University of Wisconsin–Madison
• Past Experience: Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Innosight, The Farmlink Project

What is something new you’ve learned since joining the Leland team?

In a startup environment, I've realized the critical nature of forward-thinking and explicitly stating assumptions with each strategic step. By maintaining a proactive outlook, continuous progress and adaptability become easier.

One of our core values is Celebrating Stories. What’s one of your proudest moments to celebrate?

One of my proudest accomplishments is my involvement as a Fellow with The Farmlink Profit, a non-profit group that connects farms with surplus food to food banks facing high demand. Specifically, I've been able to rescue and redirect thousands of pounds of food through hundreds of calls with farmers across the nation. It's enabled me to learn a ton about supply chain and logistics, food systems, agriculture, and people.

What advice do you have for other students seeking internships?

Networking and pursuing your interests are key! Often, the most unexpected conversations can lead to exciting opportunities. My own journey to Leland began with a casual discussion about our interest in startups with a peer from a previous internship. A strong curiosity and eagerness to learn are powerful drivers that will propel you to remarkable places.

Aarsh C.

• Internship: Growth
• School: University of Florida
• Past Experience: Oliver Wyman, Product Space, Laconia, Intuitive

Why did you choose to intern at Leland?

I’ve been following Leland since 2022, when I first learned about deferred MBAs. Leland’s goal of connecting ambitious people with the right expert–not just an expert –is something that I align with, and I wanted to intern at Leland to help further that vision and get experience in EdTech.

What is something new you’ve learned since joining the Leland team?

I’ve learned that sometimes rather than spending a ton of time developing a playbook or a plan, it’s better to just dive in and start experimenting. Frequently, expectations don’t align with reality and any painstaking plans may suddenly be useless. Sometimes, it really is just better to begin doing, and then start planning.

What advice do you have for other students seeking internships?

The best advice I have is to apply to as many as it takes. Perfect your resume (and use extensions like Simplify), and then apply to as many as humanly possible. Whenever possible, leverage existing connections and networks to get your foot in the door. Getting the interview is by far the hardest part in my opinion.

Albert W.

• Internship: Sales
• School: Washington University in St. Louis
• Past Experience: BCG, LinkedIn, Vuori

What’s your favorite part about being at Leland?

Leland is the most collaborative team I've worked for! The team brings everyone into the conversation, and I'm consistently collaborating with other teams like Engineering and Product to help the company innovate and succeed.

What advice do you have for other students seeking internships?

Be creative! Reach out to new and upcoming companies, you can sometimes make your own internship opportunity!

What is something new you’ve learned since joining the Leland team?

I've learned to adapt to how a new and fast-growing company functions! Things move quickly, with new innovations and decisions made day-to-day.