This nonprofit and corporate partnership is directly supporting college students on the path to career success and economic mobility
At Making Waves Education Foundation, we see internships as a win for students and for employers. Internships help college students gain real-world experience and help boost first job salaries while offering companies a way to build a more diverse, better-prepared workforce.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, or NACE, paid interns receive higher job-offer rates and stronger salary offers than their unpaid classmates. Internships play a critical role in helping students build experience, confidence, and clarity about their future careers while strengthening students’ skills, networks, and employment outcomes.
This winter, Making Waves and Dega Systems are launching a new internship program that will provide college students in Making Waves’ college and career success program with hands-on experience in information technology, or IT, and business operations. The pilot partnership represents a model for how other employers can get involved.
“This partnership with Dega gives students access to meaningful internship and work experiences they might not otherwise have — and shows that employers don’t need a big internship program to make a real difference,” said Justin Douglas, VP of partnerships at Making Waves.
Turning vendor relationships into internship opportunities for students
The idea for this internship partnership grew out of a conversation between Dega Systems CEO and Co-Founder Hector Ortiz and Making Waves Chief Operating Officer Erick Roa earlier this year. Dega Systems, an IT provider based in the New York metro area, works with Making Waves as its full service technology partner.
When Roa and Ortiz began discussing the organization’s focus on connecting education and career, a new idea emerged: what if their existing partnership could also open doors for students?
“All of our strongest collaborations start with trust,” said Roa. “Because Dega already knew our mission and how we work, it was easy to imagine extending that relationship into something that benefits students directly. This kind of partnership shows what’s possible for other mid-sized employers who want to make an impact.”
“I remember my internships in high school and undergrad fondly. They were instrumental in my journey to becoming the leader I am today. We’re looking forward to helping the next generation of business and technology leaders gain those same internship and leadership opportunities through this partnership with Making Waves,” said Hector Ortiz, Dega Systems CEO and co-founder.
Paid, practical, and personalized internship experiences
Paid internships are critical for expanding equity and attracting strong candidates. Compensating interns broadens access for students who can’t afford unpaid work and helps employers tap into a more diverse, motivated talent pool. Research also shows that paid internships are associated with stronger employment outcomes, higher job-offer rates, and higher starting salaries.
The Dega internship program will offer two paid IT internship tracks: one in business and project management and another in technical IT and cybersecurity. Interns will work 15 to 20 hours per week, shadow Tier 1 engineers, support audits and onboarding, and contribute to cybersecurity monitoring and client risk reviews.
Interns will earn $20 per hour, receive professional coaching around durable skills and social capital from Making Waves, and may receive sponsored exam fees for CompTIA or Microsoft certifications based on performance. The opportunity is open exclusively to college students currently enrolled in Making Waves’ college and career success program.
“First and second-year college students often get overlooked for these types of internship and leadership opportunities. While this internship is open to all college students, we deliberately designed it to be inclusive of early-college applicants so they can build skills, confidence, and a pipeline into a career,” Douglas said.
Beyond on-the-job experience, interns will participate in a structured learning track focused on durable skills such as communication, professionalism, and teamwork, which help students succeed in any workplace.
By partnering with a mission-driven company like Dega Systems, Making Waves is also ensuring that students who are underrepresented in technology fields can gain early exposure, mentorship, and credentials that open the door to a thriving sector.
A possible internship model for other career industries
Dega Systems, founded in 2001, specializes in managed IT and cybersecurity services for nonprofits, legal organizations, creative agencies, and startups. The company’s emphasis on reliability and partnership made it a natural fit for Making Waves’ pilot.
“Flexibility and shared learning are at the core of this partnership,” said Douglas. “We expect the internship to evolve as we learn alongside students and supervisors, and we’ll make adjustments along the way. That nimble, trust-based approach is how we build partnerships that set up students for success.”
The new internship program is expected to host up to two students in its first term, with plans to expand to additional placements in the coming years. Both Dega and Making Waves hope the partnership will inspire similar collaborations with other small and mid-sized employers across industries.
“Our hope is that this serves as a blueprint,” said Roa. “If an employer can provide funding to an intern, we can help build the structure around it, from recruiting to coaching to ongoing support. Together, that’s how we build sustainable pathways from college to career.”
The partnership also builds on Making Waves’ successful internal internship program and the organization recently released an employer guide on how companies can design and launch high-quality internship programs.
The Dega internship is also part of Making Waves’ broader effort to connect education and career – building pathways that link high school, college, and work experience so students earn the degrees and credentials, work experience, and social capital needed to thrive in high-demand fields.
By partnering with employers in sectors such as business, IT, and cybersecurity, Making Waves is expanding the number of high-wage pathways available to students and helping the region meet its workforce needs.
Partnerships like the one with Dega Systems also show the intermediary role Making Waves plays between students and companies, pairing student talent with employers offering paid roles. It’s an internship model that gives students the chance to build confidence and take concrete steps toward economic mobility, while offering employers access to college students with talent and career coaching support.
Let’s partner!
Making Waves collaborates with employers who want to build their talent pipeline, offer career-connected learning, and engage their teams in meaningful ways. Together, we can support historically underrepresented students in developing their career skills while helping your organization meet future employees early, boost employee engagement, and advance your social impact goals in measurable ways.