Katelyn Lee was expecting to be focused on public policy as an Edison International intern but didn’t realize she would become fascinated with the sustainable energy policies that could impact the community, the state and potentially the world.

Lee is working toward a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, politics and law, as well as a master’s in public policy at the University of Southern California. She joined the company’s Corporate Affairs department for what began as a summer internship and has now been extended to the end of the year. Lee actively supports public policy analysis across the enterprise, which includes monitoring state and federal legislation that could impact Edison’s operations and initiatives.

“It’s been a great learning experience to understand the different nuances with legislation in the energy space and seeing how different changes can have different impacts on communities,” she said.

Lee joined 141 students in the annual summer internship program that began in 2015 and went virtual for the second time this year. By providing real-world job experiences, Edison is providing a path that could one day lead these students back to the utility industry full time.

“It is critical to assign realistic, meaningful work that mirrors a job here at Edison. The intent is to develop a pipeline to fill entry-level positions and assign them the work that is done in the scope of their team,” said Tricia Joyner, Southern California Edison principal manager in Talent Acquisition. “It's what makes the experience meaningful for them. The work our interns put in allows them to ask themselves if this could be a potential career path in their future.”

When Justin Hogenauer learned that he was named an Edison Scholar in 2018, he looked forward to the opportunity to apply for an internship at SCE. Hogenauer was one of 30 high school students to receive a $40,000 scholarship from Edison International to support their dreams of a career in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

He is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies at the University of California, Berkeley and shared that he only applied for one internship. “Edison has been a huge supporter of my education and I always knew I wanted to pay it forward in some way, shape or form. When I was looking at my junior year summer, I looked at Edison as being an opportunity for an advantageous internship experience.”

When Hogenauer joined the Supply Chain team as their summer intern, he never thought he would be working on competitive multimillion-dollar negotiations and pricing analysis. The experience of working on project contracts and contractor negotiations has helped him discover his own career aspirations in leadership.

“There is a very strong values-based culture at Edison, and you see that day-to-day as an intern,” he said.

Another fellow 2019 Edison Scholar, Tina Li, is studying electrical engineering, computer science and business administration at UC Berkeley and also made it a priority to pursue an SCE internship. Li joined the Energy Procurement Management settlements team and closely monitors payment validations for clean energy, renewables and conventional contract accounts and compiled data for her team.

Working in a new virtual environment has not been easy but Li’s team made sure to give her the support she needed. Her mentor, Diana Canales, made her feel welcome and ensured she connected with the right people.

“My mentor set me up for success by introducing me to employees that personally took the time to guide me and answer questions. They were the best part of SCE for me,” Li said.

For more information about SCE internships, visit: edisoncareers.com. Internship positions are typically posted in the fall.