Playing It Forward: Lessons from a Summer with 7 Interns

This summer at ICO, we expanded something close to our hearts—we welcomed seven summer interns into our business, our largest cohort yet. They were an ambitious and diverse group: marketing and business majors, a few aspiring fashion designers, and all in various stages of their college journey. For a company of our size, that's a big number.

Why We Did It

We didn’t launch this program as a recruiting pipeline. In fact, we were very clear about that from the start.

Our goal was simple and honest: to play it forward. To open our doors, invest our time, and provide these students with a meaningful opportunity to gain hands-on, real-world experience.

Was It Easy? Not Even Close.

In a mid-size company like ours, every hour matters. Resources are tight, and taking on seven interns meant putting even more weight on already full plates. From structuring the program to managing day-to-day involvement, it was a lift—and it required intention, commitment, and no small amount of time.

But we did it anyway. Because we believe it’s the right thing to do.

The Bigger Picture

The job market today is incredibly challenging for young adults. Competition is fierce—even unpaid internships receive hundreds of applications, creating the impossible cycle of needing experience to get experience.

There simply aren’t enough meaningful opportunities for them to grow, contribute, and be seen.

If we want to build stronger companies, stronger communities, and stronger leaders, then we can’t sit that one out.

The Unexpected Bonus

As we approach the final weeks of summer, something interesting has happened.

We thought we were doing this for them. And we did.
But what we didn’t fully expect was the impact they would have on us.

These seven interns brought:

• Fresh ideas
• Sharp questions
• New energy
• A willingness to challenge how we think and operate

They pushed us to see through new lenses. They reminded us that innovation and growth often come from unlikely places.

In short, they made us better.

A Final Word

We set out to play it forward—and maybe we did.
But in the process, we also received more than we gave.

To our 2025 summer interns: thank you.