Coastal Cloud is honored to receive the 2022 UK Employer of the Year award from the University of Kentucky. This award is presented to an employer for significant contributions to the University of Kentucky through recruitment and hiring of students and alumni, as well as engagement with the UK career centers to support career programs and professional development on campus.
One of Coastal Cloud’s UK interns, McKensie Millay, nominated Coastal Cloud for this award which selects companies who offer internships, provide mentoring, training, professional development and networking as well as engagement with UK students including job shadowing, career fairs, classroom presentations, and employer panels.
McKensie, a Junior Analyst in the Coastal Cloud Consulting Program, shared that her experience has been invaluable, allowing her to gain increased responsibility throughout her internship, engaging in “real” work with clients. “I can confidently say that I have grown more from a professional standpoint in these 12 weeks than I have for the majority of my college career. I know what it means to be a contributing employee within a workplace. I know how to participate and be engaged within a project team. I have a better awareness of my communication and presentation skills and I know how to engage with business clients,” says McKensie. “There is such a great team at Coastal Cloud who constantly supports us in every way at each step of the process. They have embraced being our mentors in this process as opposed to seeing us as a burden. They have guided us along this fast but valuable journey, provided feedback and life lessons – both big picture and more technical Salesforce knowledge.”
Company Founder, Sara Hale, has been committed to helping students on their career path since the company’s inception. “As a mother of three children, I see value in providing opportunities for students to jumpstart their careers,” says Hale. “Our partnership with UK has been an amazing experience, not just for our interns, but for our team members as well. We have actually hired 6 students for full-time employment since we began this program just a short time ago and are pleased to have other UK alumni on staff with us to manage the program.”
Sarah Madison, Coastal Cloud’s Talent Development Consultant, accepted the award on behalf of the company at a ceremony on April 22, 2022.
