Earlier this spring, Lauren, my summer intern from a few summers back phoned me and asked me to join her for coffee. She’s in college now and was in town on a spring break. I was most pleased to hear from her. Back when she was in high school, she volunteered a few hours a week and proved to be an excellent addition to the company.

When I entered the restaurant where we agreed to meet, she looked up, smiled and waved hello. Wow – what had college done to this young girl? She had transformed into a very mature and polished woman.

We sipped our coffee, and Lauren got right down to business. She wanted to come back this summer to work with me. I was most impressed with her approach, and more impressed with her desire to have another go at it.

It’s very casual here, but we do get a lot of work done in any given day or week. It’s never the same as we bounce from project to project depending on the client requests.

Lauren has an amazing ability to jump from one thing to another. She’s offered to take work home when she can’t come to the office. She’s amazing!

This is not a letter of recommendation for Lauren – she’s earned one at the end of summer, but it’s more my personal endorsement to employers out there to give young people an opportunity to shadow you and learn about business. It may take some time to train or teach the inner workings of your business. Sure, she’s here to learn, but the input Lauren has given me, the organizational skills she brings to the office and her great smile and outlook on life makes those days when she’s here better for me, too.