What first drew Sydney Onesti to the Morgridge Center? Put simply: she was looking for a college job related to her industrial engineering degree. However, after working as the transportation intern at the Morgridge Center for two years and loving the environment of the center, Onesti’s position “ended up being the best of both worlds.”
“My role at the Morgridge Center ended up being the best of both worlds, like it was better than I was even expecting for so many reasons,” she says.
Onesti currently works as senior manager of Technical Services at Kohl’s. Onesti graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2020 with a degree in industrial engineering and worked as a transportation intern at the Morgridge Center from 2018-20.
As a transportation intern at the Morgridge Center, Onesti coordinated transportation to connect volunteers with their community partner site. In this position, Onesti was able to further the Morgridge Center’s mission by working on the administrative end of the center, rather than being directly involved with volunteering. She has always enjoyed seeing the real time impacts of her work, she says, and experienced this benefit as a transportation intern.
“I’d be walking to classes in college, and I’d see someone hopping in a Union Cab, and they could be going to their volunteer community site,” Onesti says. “And that was really cool to see that I might have had a little part in that.”
Through her role at the Morgridge Center, Onesti learned valuable skills like time management and effective communication. When students would come to the center with transportation issues, Onesti gained experience with constructive criticism through addressing these issues and adjusting the program to run more smoothly and efficiently. This process of incorporating feedback is especially relevant in her career in industrial engineering, she says.
After Onesti started working at the Morgridge Center, she began strongly recommending the Morgridge Center internships to all her friends because of the outstanding environment at the center. From bonding with interns over hard days at school to winning the “Best Cornbread” award at the Annual Morgridge Center Chili Cook Off – despite making the cornbread from a box, she admits, four years later – Onesti thoroughly enjoyed her time at the Morgridge Center.
“I would tell all my friends, or anyone who would listen, ‘you need to apply here right now,’” Onesti says. “Just because of the role and the experience you get, but also the community that is there. Everyone was so supportive, and just genuinely good people. It was such a great environment to be around day in and day out.”
While Onesti’s current position at Kohl’s doesn’t directly interact with public service, corporate social responsibility plays a role as she helps promote sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as ethical work practices in the company. The Kohl’s company also offers a corporate volunteering program, encouraging staff to give back to the community.
Onesti says an engineering education can bring a unique problem solving and analytical lens to addressing big social problems, an example of the diverse variety of connections between professional fields and public service.
Nearly four years into her career journey at Kohl’s, Onesti knows her position at the Morgridge Center played a role in her professional path. Onesti credits the Morgridge Center for helping her build critical professional skills and create a competitive resume, she says, and deeply appreciates her time at the center.
“The world can be a heavy and scary place sometimes, and it’s just extremely comforting to know that there’s places like the Morgridge Center that bring light and action for public good in our community,” Onesti says. “I think it’s just a really special place, and I’m glad that I was able to be a part of it while I was at UW–Madison.”