UIC Sprinternship program starts a new chapter

Left to Right: Eman Arsham, Mehtab Kaur, Leahruth Jemilo and Shanon Reckinger at the UIC Winter Involvement Fair and Service Expo recently. (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC)

Since 2020, UIC's Sprinternship program has given UIC computing students a jump start on careers with micro-internships at major companies like McDonald's, Google, Amazon and Abbott Laboratories. This spring, the program is entering a new chapter, with a new director determined to continue and grow opportunities for diverse tech talent at UIC.

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The program, housed in the Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering, places students in three-week internships. Initially, the program was part of Break Through Tech, a national initiative founded by Judith Spitz at Cornell Tech and supported by Pivotal Ventures, Melinda Gates French's social good and incubation company. The initiative was designed to increase opportunities for underrepresented populations considering careers in technology.

Now the program's new leader, Leahruth Jemilo, director of experiential learning and career outcomes, aims to continue the focus on traditionally underrepresented student populations.

"This is actually my dream job," Jemilo said. "I'm so thrilled to be here because it brings together a lot of the things I've done in my career, from student mentorship to strategic corporate development and human capital management."

The three-week micro-internships have already helped hundreds of students launch their careers, including that of Eman Arsham, a fourth-year computer science and design major who now has a software engineering job waiting for her after she graduates in May.

Arsham said her Sprinternshipin 2024 at Google allowed her to work with talented people in a team environment. Not only did it help her decide that computer science would be her future, it opened doors for her to that future.

Leahruth Jemilo (left) speaks with Eman Arsham at the UIC Winter Involvement Fair and Service Expo recently. (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC) UIC Student Mehtab Kaur (left) speaks with Leahruth Jemilo at the UIC Winter Involvement Fair and Service Expo recently. (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC)

"I had that Sprinternship on my resume, and during the interview I talked about that Sprinternship and that really helped me," said Arsham, who is president of the UIC club Women in Computer Science.

Before joining UIC in January, Jemilo worked in corporate social responsibility, helping companies be better stewards and corporate citizens. She's mentored many young women and also ran her own company, Girlspeak, which worked with the Chicago Public Schools to help girls build confidence and public speaking skills.

"The goal was to help girls find and use their voice at an early age," Jemilo said. "This role helps bring all of that together."

She said she will work to expand the roster of Chicago-area employers who participate in the program, which helps them recruit computer science talent.

The Sprinternships take place in May after the end of the spring semester. Cohorts of five students work on a project the company requires, and the companies provide mentors to the students throughout the process.

Since the program began, more than 400 UIC students have been placed in Sprinternships, Jemilo said. She will be building on that success, which has shown that 70% of the companies offered a full-time summer internship or full-time job to at least one of their Sprintern students. Many companies ask students to continue working beyond the three-week period.

"We've had tremendous success over the last five years," Jemilo said. "It's because they've been so impressed with what our students are capable of doing and the value that they provide to the companies."

Learuth Jemilo joins UIC as director of experiential learning and career outcomes. (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC)

The aim is to continue increasing the share of women and non-binary students in computing fields. At UIC, the share of women and non-binary computer science majors has risen, from 19% to 26% since 2020, when Break Through Tech and Sprinternships began, Jemilo said.

The Sprinternship program will take advantage of UIC's Computer Design Research and Learning Center, which opened last year, by having students use the lab spaces and meeting areas to work on their projects and meet with mentors.

This year, the program will offer a tuition-free summer session computer science class, CS 111, to incoming first-year students who may be thinking about adding computer science as a focus in their studies. The free class, which runs from June 15 to Aug. 5, has been offered to rising second- and third-year students, most of whom had not majored in computer science.

"It's a great way to get interest in computer science from women and non-binary students," Jemilo said. "It's also a pipeline for Sprinternships."

Mehtab Kaur, a second-year data science major, said the Sprinternship she completed at Google last year helped her feel more comfortable with data and computer science. And it reinforced her chosen path.

"It made me sure I want a career in data science," Kaur said. "Also, it made me realize there are so many people out there who want to help me, and I do belong here."

Kaur said the Sprinternship allowed her to work and learn from many professionals whom she considers mentors. It also helped her secure a full-time, long-term internship with a tech company this summer.

"I'm really pleased to hear that UIC is committed to keeping programs like this, especially for people to grow themselves in the tech industry," Kaur said.