I can feel it. Summer is just right around the corner. The days are getting longer, and the weather is warming up. Ever since I was younger, summer has always been my favorite season. What’s not to love? Going to the beach, having BBQ picnics with friends, and taking family vacations are all part of my annual summer plans, and this year will be no different.
Just like my summer traditions, there is one at Toshiba that has been ongoing for years – the summer internship program. The hiring managers are in the final stages of selecting this year’s candidates for TAEC’s summer internship program, and although the program only lasts two to three months, these college interns will quickly be immersed in the HDD business and become a part of the Toshiba family. Their contributions will help our company grow.
Many think that summer internships are just a short-term gig that looks good on a young person’s resume – and it does. However, the program is what you make of it, and it can turn into life-changing career opportunities. Just ask the two ex-interns, Tammy and Shashank. I’m sure they will say that their summer stint at Toshiba was one of the main reasons they came back to join the team. In the last five years, Toshiba has welcomed back a number of the summer interns after graduation to join our company in full capacity.
Tammy Nguyen, Senior Business Analyst, plays a key role in working with OEM customers with price negotiations, business forecasting and revenue planning. She interned in the summer of 2019 as a Marketing intern during her senior year at Santa Clara University graduate program. Her work contribution and commitment made it an easy decision to bring her back in March 2020 to become a part of the marketing family. When asked why she chose to return to Toshiba, she replied, “My summer intern experience was super engaging. I always felt like I was part of a team, and not just a summer intern. They gave me the freedom to implement the things I learned in school into a visualization project. I also knew that if I came back in a full-time capacity, my managers and colleagues would be there to fully support me and to foster growth for my career.”
Shashank Chandrasekaran, Senior R&D Engineer, is a part of the Firmware team and contributes to designing and developing controller firmware features in C and C++ for HDDs. Shashank was a full-time intern during the summer of 2023 and then transitioned to a part-time role during Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 as a graduate student at University of Colorado Boulder. Shashank remarked that he had a great experience because the Toshiba team was very supportive and easy to approach with questions. He had a hands-on approach to develop HDD firmware and quickly became well versed in the various software, codes and other tools needed as a Firmware engineer. Shashank became a full-time employee in July 2024, and he said, “I chose Toshiba because his work would be challenging but very interesting. Additionally, the work environment, the managers, and team are all welcoming, supportive and understanding. Toshiba provided a good balance between work and personal life.”
No summer intern story is complete without mentioning the oldest ex-summer intern that is still working at Toshiba. Kyle Yamamoto, TAEC’s Vice President, HDD Division, also got his start as a summer intern. While studying at UC Davis, Kyle was a summer intern at Fujitsu and then got hired after graduating. Kyle moved to Toshiba when it acquired Fujitsu in 2009. Fast-forward to 2025, and now Kyle is heading up all of TAEC’s HDD division.
I am looking forward to summer and to all the things I enjoy. But I am also looking forward to meeting and working with this year’s summer interns. Who knows what the future holds for these young and bright students – maybe, just maybe, one of them will emerge to lead Toshiba in the future.