Tobyhanna Army Depot (TYAD), in recognition of National Intern Day, an observance created to celebrate future leaders, highlighted depot employees who joined Team Tobyhanna through internship programs on July 25.

TYAD’s Pathways Program offers federal employment opportunities for students nearing graduation or who have recently graduated. Current students can participate in the internship program for temporary summer jobs while recent graduates can apply for permanent jobs at Tobyhanna.

Amira Chhaiouine, Florence Annor, and Samantha Suarez each come to TYAD through a relationship with the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Tobyhanna’s 12 yearlong collaboration has allowed students to seize the opportunity to get hands-on experience in a work environment during a summer program with TYAD. The internship provides undergraduates the opportunity to learn the processes and operations the depot performs on a daily basis to meet the needs of America’s warfighters.

Chhaiouine majors in Cyber Security at RIT. A native of Bel Air, Maryland, her interest in working with technical systems drew her to the program. She found her way to TYAD after talking with a depot attendee at a university career fair. Having completed previous internships in the private sector, she viewed this as a great opportunity to see what life is like working for the federal government.

Chhaiouine has been working as a member of the Information Management Division’s Cyber Security Branch where she has been learning the many process that go into keeping TYAD secure.  Part of her internship has also included the opportunity to developmentally spend two weeks in the depot’s Network Operations Branch, another area in which she said she has some knowledge and interest in.

Chhaiouine said it has been encouraging to see that she’s been able to apply much of what she’s learned at RIT to the work she performs at TYAD.

“I have been able to use a lot of the skills that I’ve learned at my school which is great and also learn other things that I had never heard of,” said Chhaiouine. “It has been great for me to compare the class experiences and the real-world experiences, especially on the federal side of things.”

Chhaiouine lauded the team she has had the opportunity to work with, saying they’ve been very welcoming, helpful, and informative.

“I have been shadowing what everybody is doing almost every day. If they work on something specific, they will just add me their communication channels and will also provide me with helpful examples. It is a great opportunity to learn more,” said Chhaiouine. “The people are very good. I really like my team.”

Cyber Security Enterprise Branch Chief Sean Hannan said Chhaiouine has been a tremendous value to the team during her time at TYAD so far.

“Amira has been an invaluable asset to the cyber operations team during her time at Tobyhanna as an intern. Her incredible intelligence along with a fresh and innovative outlook has greatly assisted the team in completing and improving a number of systems and mission requirements,” said Hannan. “With a friendly, outgoing personality, she has been a welcome addition to our team.”

Chhaiouine said that although she intends to keep her options open, her experiences at TYAD have opened her eyes to new possibilities and will consider returning to federal service upon graduation.

Annor, a Business major at RIT, spends her days at TYAD supporting the Field Logistics Support (FLS) directorate. Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, she also found her way to TYAD through a conversation she had at the university career fair.

Annor’s father, who works as a truck driver, encouraged her become independent at a young age and introduced her to the business side of his operations, which inspired her to grow up and pursue her field of study. With other future aspirations in mind, such as becoming a working mother and maintaining a healthy work life balance, she said she felt the business world would be perfect for her.

At RIT, Annor worked for a program called “Veterans Upward Bound,” which assists veterans and military service members with enrolling in school. Outside of school, she’s also had friends and family alike enlist in the Armed Forces. She credited these experiences with helping her connect with TYAD’s mission.

“The fact that when you make that oath and you sign your name on the line, you’re giving up your family, you’re giving up your friends, you’re giving up seeing your children grow, you’re giving up all of these different things to go and serve the country,” said Annor. “It is an honorable thing. I see the noble cause that is happening and I want to support that.”

That connection makes supporting depot operations and our Nation’s warfighters impactful for Annor.

“My favorite thing about working at Tobyhanna is understanding and seeing the impact of what I’m doing,” said Annor. “Even if it may seem small, it really plays into the entire operation of depot functions.”

Annor has been assisting the FLS directorate with data work, such as data maintenance and data calls, and administrative work when needed. Being that much of her directorate performs their work outside the continental United States, she said she finds the work to be unique and interesting.

Tessa Zantowsky serves as a Management Analyst within the FLS directorate. She said Annor has already helped improve processes in her short time assisting the team.

“Florence has been instrumental in assisting us with maintaining high quality internal workforce data as well as furthering the way we view and use that data to make better business decisions,” said Zantowsky. “She has also assisted in the creation and fine tuning of the standard operating procedures used by our directorate administrative staff.”

Annor she said she really appreciates the hands-on nature of the internship.

“Yes, you can sit in a classroom and gain much information. The classroom has helped me understand many concepts, but ultimately it is the hands-on work that has really helped me understand what I’m doing,” said Annor. “I feel like I’ve learned something here.”

Michael Monroe serves as Chief of the Regional Support Center Management Division within the FLS directorate. He first met Annor at the NTID career fair and said he feels lucky to work with her at TYAD.

“I was fortunate last fall, as a Tobyhanna representative visiting the NTID, to have the honor of meeting with and interviewing Florence. Her professional and academic qualities were immediately evident, and it was clear that she was someone that we wanted to intern with our team,” said Monroe. “Having recently been reassigned within the FLS directorate, I was very pleased to learn that I now have the opportunity to work with her directly. It is clear from her reputation, that she has been making a significant and positive impact within our organization.”

Joseph Fantanarosa serves the Director of the FLS directorate. He said Annor’s ability to learn quickly has made her an asset to the team and hopes to see her at TYAD in summers to come.

“It was a pleasure having Florence here in FLS this summer. She is extremely intelligent and quick to learn,” said Fantanarosa. “We can only hope she is able to come back next summer!”

Annor said upon obtaining her degree, she intends to enter the workforce and venture into supply chain management, another influence she credited to her father. She added that she too will keep the federal government in mind when considering employment and is grateful for how working at TYAD taught her to be a true professional.

Suarez currently studies Civil Engineering at RIT and is spending her summer supporting the Site Preparation & Baseband Engineering Branch within TYAD’s Production Engineering directorate. Originally from Florida, she relocated to Plano, Texas before enrolling at the university in upstate New York.

Suarez said that since she was young, she has always been fascinated by how things work. She said that taking things apart and piecing them back together brings her a lot of satisfaction and joy. When it came time to decide what she wanted to study, engineering felt like a no brainer. After earning an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Aided Drafting, she felt confident in her engineering abilities. This led her to search for opportunities that would provide her with real world, hands-on experience.

Although not initially aware of career options within the federal government, a conversation at a career fair changed all of that. Suarez said that her time working at TYAD has left a positive mark on her professional aspirations.

“Tobyhanna has made a huge impact on me. There have been so many opportunities and you can learn anything here in a safe environment,” said Suarez. “I’ve been shown many new things and have had things explained to me. “I don’t want to leave working. I will love to continue work at Tobyhanna.”

Suarez said Tobyhanna has exposed her to a new side of engineering. One day she may be working on a radar, the next inside a radome, and the next supporting digging operations at various sites. Additionally, she has spent time shadowing some mechanical engineering processes to broaden her skillset. She credited the team she works with for making the experience as informative and educational as it has been.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m deaf or not. The team is just so nice and happy and willing to communicate with me. I feel like they treat me as a human and that makes me feel great,” said Suarez. “We just get together, communicate with each other, and get the work done. It gives me the motivation to want to learn more and get more from them.”

Christopher Sheerer serves as Chief of the Site Preparation & Baseband Engineering Branch. He said that from day one Suarez has been enthusiastic about her work, which she performs with much pride.

“Samantha shows a level of intensity that I haven’t seen in an intern in many years. She eagerly and fearlessly—but not recklessly—gets involved in the heavy construction projects that the team is involved in,” said Sheerer. “She is always asking great questions and confidently offers suggestions when she recognizes the possibility of alternate means of doing the work.”

Suarez said that she’s overcome many hurdles in life and the drive to keep going is born out of strong will and determination.

“Don’t fear,” said Suarez. “At least you try.”

Following graduation, Suarez said she plans to continue with graduate studies and will certainly keep the federal government in mind when it comes time for her to consider employment opportunities.