From Learning to Launching: Port of Cleveland Inaugural Interns Reflect on Their Summer Experience

This summer, three interns joined the Port of Cleveland, each bringing unique interests, skills, and career goals to their roles across the organization. Through hands-on projects, collaboration with Port professionals, and exposure to the maritime industry; the interns gained valuable experience while developing a deeper understanding of the work that keeps the region connected globally.  

Although each intern supported different areas of the Port, they shared a common perspective: the internship was an opportunity to grow professionally, challenge themselves, and contribute to meaningful work.  

Alexa Konover: Marketing and Social Media Intern 

As the Port of Cleveland’s Marketing and Social Media Intern, Alexa Konover spent the summer helping share the Port’s story with audiences across multiple platforms. Through content creation, social media management, website writing, and storytelling projects, Alexa gained firsthand experience in how strategic communication supports an organization’s mission.  

One of the biggest takeaways from her experience was seeing how deeply communication is connected to every area of the Port’s work. From highlighting vessel activity and community events to sharing updates on various projects, Alexa learned that effective communication plays a key role in helping people understand the Port’s impact.  

“Every story, social media post, website update, event, or marketing effort has a purpose. Whether it is to educate the public or highlight the Port’s impact on Northeast Ohio, working here showed me that communications plays a key role in helping people understand an industry they may not think about every day” she said. 

This opportunity further allowed Alexa to strengthen her skills in professional writing, content strategy, project management, and adapting messaging for different audiences. She noted that she gained confidence in taking initiative, collaborating across departments, and the strategy behind creating meaningful and engaging digital content. 

Emmett Gillespie: Engineering Intern  

During his time at the Port, Emmett Gillespie focused on creating a project database to organize and centralize information across various active projects. At the same time, he assisted with grant applications, contributing to the Cleveland Harbor Electrification Initiative, and preparing to apply to grants for future projects. Through this role, he gained experience in project management and organization while learning more about how his work supported the Port’s overall mission.  

One of the highlights of Emmett’s internship was being able to apply classroom concepts to real-world projects. He noted how crucial observing and working with industry professionals has been for his professional development.  

“There’s a big gap between what you learn as an engineer in the college classroom and what you end up doing in the real world. I think you can really only get that knowledge by actually working with experienced engineers and learning about everything they do” he said.  

Emmett enjoyed the challenge of learning about macros that run reports for databases as it pushed him to develop problem-solving skills and resiliency. He also emphasized how he feels more prepared moving forward with his newfound knowledge of how engineering projects are conducted.  

Ben Cutarelli: Sustainable Infrastructure Intern  

For Ben Cutarelli, the internship was an opportunity to explore his interests while building confidence in a professional environment. 

His work included research on affordable housing, transit-oriented development, and creating maps on the Port’s foreign trade zones. These projects gave him experience working with other public agencies and developing a greater understanding of public policy. One of his favorite parts of the internship was getting to work with the City of Cleveland and Greater Cleveland RTA, which helped him better understand his future career goals. 

“Transportation planning is something I have been interested in for years. Finally getting to apply this passion in an internship setting and getting to work on projects in this area has been very fulfilling” he said.  

Throughout the summer, Ben also refined his mapping skills and looks forward to having these digital pieces to represent the contributions he made to various projects. Likewise, he described learning the importance of being adaptable and being willing to take initiative helped him propel planning initiatives forward. 

Looking Ahead 

While each intern’s responsibilities were unique, their experiences shared a common theme. Each of them noted the fantastic company culture they were immediately welcomed into and how eager they are to continue the relationships they created after the internship concludes. 

When asked what advice they would give to future interns, the message was clear: stay curious, ask questions, and make the most of every opportunity.  

Together, these reflections highlight the value of the Port of Cleveland’s internship experience and the next generation of professionals who are ready to keep learning, growing, and making an impact.