Internship Spotlight – Tianna Collins, Tucson Electric Power

Tiana Collins is a Business Management major and will graduate in May of 2019.  She interned this summer for Tucson Electric Power as the Human Resource Student Intern in Tucson, Arizona.

How did you get this internship? I found my internship through HandShake.

What was a typical day like? A typical day in the office consists of coordinating interviews and various recruiting tasks. I am responsible for confidential inputting, auditing and correcting data entries regarding employee status changes using PeopleSoft, which I got the opportunity of learning inside-out this past summer and continuing throughout my experience. My main goal at TEP is to assist with employee relations, compensation, benefits, labor relations and other general human resources functions.

What was your favorite part of the experience? My favorite part of interning at TEP is the wide variety of opportunity and people you get to meet on the job. Although I am in a business setting, helping with recruitment and various tasks, I get to meet people who work in an environment entirely different from mine within the same company.

What did you find most challenging about your internship? A challenging part of my internship is some of our employees are “classified,” which means that they are a part of a Union (IBEW 1116). With this, there are a few different rules that must be followed based on the Labor Agreement, so knowing the difference is a big deal when speaking to a classified employee.

What advice do you have for other students looking for a similar internship? The best advice I could give is to take every opportunity they let you, which they will give you every opportunity they possibly can. TEP loves and values their interns. We are treated like true employees and nothing close to “less than”, as some internships can be perceived.

How did Eller prepare you for your internship? Eller prepared me for this internship by teaching me the recruitment process before I would have to go through and while doing it on the job. I know what to look for in a candidate depending on the job and I also know how to hold myself to a higher standard professionally.

Did your internship employer provide housing or transportation assistance? My employer provided transportation or financially supplemented my transportation during the internship.

Anything else you would like to share about your internship experience? TEP prides itself on the amount of volunteer hours that our employees put back into our own community. At least one-third of Tucson Electric Power employees volunteer, either on their own or through events coordinated by the company.