Thank You Varonis!

 

I was first introduced to Varonis back in 2016 through my Non-profit wrestling organization Beat The Streets New York (BTSNY). BTSNY and Varonis had a partnership. Through that partnership they offered me and four other wrestlers a summer internship with what we saw as the best opportunity – ever. Their office is in one of those huge Manhattan buildings, and even though none of us had seen one from the inside before, we were excited.

It was like a dream come true for me. It was the summer before my freshman year in college and all I could think was, “wow, I’m going to be so ahead of the game with all the experience and knowledge I will gain from this internship.”

The internship consisted of us spending a week in every department -- from HR to IT. We learned everything from how to properly prepare for and ace an interview, to how to secure your computer from hackers. It was great.

I remember they set up a competition between the interns where the winner would gain bragging rights or something like that. As wrestlers, we were competitive and wanted to win. We had to come up with an innovative app idea and present it to the Varonis Committee. This is where my entrepreneurial habits came into fruition, I would say (Wink, Wink). So, we all came up with an idea that we had to pitch. It was nerve-wracking at first, but we all got through it, and that’s what really mattered. I learned that public speaking is an essential part of life, and that it’s not necessary to win every time. As you can guess, my app didn’t get 1st place, but I feel like the pitch competition was the start of something great.

After our Varonis summer internship concluded, I went into my freshman semester of college feeling like the man – I was way ahead of the game with all the experience I gained from the internship. It is rare to get an opportunity like that, and I will forever be grateful for it.

A great thing I learned from Varonis was that relationships are key. After my internship was over, Varonis kept in contact – calling and sending monthly check in emails to see how we were doing. As a freshman in college, the calls were great. They would check in to see how I was doing in class and even gave me a scholarship so that I would be able to buy the books I needed for class. Not only did they check up on us with calls and emails, but on breaks they hosted dinners so that we could catch up in person. So, not only did they teach us life and professional skills, but they also stayed connected with me, and for that, I see Varonis as more of a family than a job.

Fast forward to 2020, and I now have my own business. Remember that relationship thing I was talking about and how it was key? Well, Varonis caught wind of my business and offered me an internship with their marketing department to help me learn how to expand my brand. When I got that news, we were in the middle of Covid-19 quarantine, so I was ecstatic that an established was going to help me get experience in a field that would help me build my business.

Thank You, Varonis!

Check out this great video @VaronisLife put together HERE