At Silpa Companies, one of the things we are most proud of is the experience we create for our interns.
Our internship program is not just about assigning projects or giving students exposure to interesting work. We view it as an accelerator, a place where interns can sharpen their ideas, challenge their assumptions, build real skills, and, most importantly, learn directly from leaders who have operated at the highest levels of their industries.
For this current batch, our interns had the opportunity to meet with several exceptional leaders, including:
Snehal Antani, founder of Horizon3.ai and former executive/leader across organizations such as JSOC, IBM, and GE Capital.
Lonnye Bower, cofounder of ProbablyMonsters and an engineering leader with deep experience in databases, gaming, and major technical systems, including work connected to games like Destiny.
Jon Garza, CISO at PSA BDP, with executive cybersecurity leadership experience across Wilsonart, Kodiak Gas Services, Siemens Energy, Core Laboratories, and the University of Houston-Downtown.
Dr. Jerry Walker, Executive Director at TimelyCare and former leader across Nebraska Medicine and the U.S. Navy.
Each conversation gave our interns a different perspective.
From Snehal, they learned about ambition, risk-taking, and the courage required to build something meaningful. One of the most important takeaways was that career growth is not only about asking, “Where do I want to be in five years?” It is about asking, “What skills, judgment, and discipline do I need to develop now to become capable of that future?”
From Lonnye, they learned that technical ability can open many doors, but self-belief is what allows people to walk through them. Opportunities often arrive before someone feels fully ready, but that does not mean they are incapable. Sometimes, the most important step is to reach out, take ownership, provide value, and bet on yourself. She also emphasized something even deeper: character. Kindness, generosity, and being a good person matter, especially in environments where that is not always the default.
From Jon, they learned how a CISO really thinks. For young engineers and builders, this is critical. If you want to build products for enterprises, you have to understand more than code. You have to understand risk, compliance, trust, operations, vendor management, internal priorities, and the reality that security leaders are not simply buying features: they are protecting organizations. Great products are built when engineers understand the business and security realities of the people who will actually use, approve, and defend those systems.
From Dr. Walker, they learned why context matters. His perspective was especially valuable because he brought the voice of the practitioner and end user. If you are building for healthcare, you need to understand how care is actually delivered. If you are building for manufacturing, you need to understand what happens on the floor. If you are building for any specialized industry, you cannot rely only on theory. You have to understand the workflows, constraints, pressures, incentives, and human realities behind the problem.
That is the kind of exposure we want our interns to have at Silpa.
Not just tasks.
Not just meetings.
Not just resume lines.
We want them to see excellence up close. We want them to ask real questions of people who have built, led, protected, scaled, and transformed organizations. We want them to understand that the world is much bigger than a job description and that they are capable of building meaningful careers if they develop the right skills, judgment, character, and courage.
The internship, as it stands was built out by the executive team at Silpa and is personally handled by them. The individuals leading it are Sal Dumitrascu, MBA and Michael Sedique, MS, MBA.
We are truly excited for where our interns will go in the future, and we are proud to play a role in their development.
If you’re a student interested in a future internship batch at Silpa Companies, visit: