More than 700 young workers representing 173 companies, 103 schools, 34 states and nine countries – including interns, apprentices and summer associates – registered to gather on the plaza in front of Playhouse Square for the first annual Summer in the Land networking party on Wednesday.

 

Partygoers mixed, mingled, sampled local foods, heard from Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne, partied with the Cavs’ Moondog – and capped off the evening with a Guardians game. Most importantly, they got to know Cleveland better – and their fellow interns.  More than a few snaps were shared, restaurants recommended and numbers exchanged.

 

 

It was an electrifying, inspiring evening.

 

Lauren Redhead, a Fort Meyers, Fla., native is interning at Palmer Holland in marketing & sales management this summer. She hopes to make Cleveland home. “I really like the culture, the weather. I like Ohio’s mix of urban and small towns.”

 

John Carroll University students Nicholas Rodriguez, Will Crader and Logan Sindone raved about the evening – and their #SummerInTheLand.

 

“I want to stay in Cleveland – Cleveland is doing it better than a lot of other places,” said Crader, a Detroit native. “There are so many activities, so many varieties of places to work. In Detroit, it’s pretty much dominated by ‘The Big Three.”

 

Vandana Jada, a data science major at Texas A&M University, is in Cleveland for the first time ever, interning at Nordson Corporation. She’s impressed by the amenities. “I really like it here – it’s very welcoming. I love Edgewater Beach and can’t wait to try Cedar Point.”

 

 

Summer in the Land began with a simple idea, said Greater Cleveland Partnership President and CEO Baiju Shah: making connections.

 

GCP hosted the event, in conjunction with Cleveland Talent Alliance partners Destination Cleveland, Engage Cleveland, Global Cleveland, TeamNEO and the Cleveland Leadership Center.

 

“We wanted to connect our 21 interns to their peers in the region.  And then, with their new friends, they can explore and enjoy all that living in Cleveland has to offer – and from that tell their friends directly, on social channels, and back on campus about their Summer in the Land.  This will help them and their friends consider our Great Region on a Great Lake when they graduate, amplifying the recent trend of Cleveland being a net brain gainer for college graduates.”

 

 

Shah introduced Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, saying, “It’s my first pleasure to introduce the City of Cleveland’s first Millennial Mayor, which may be old to all of you, but is young to me, my friend and partner, Mayor Justin Bibb.”

 

Mayor Bibb shared how he returned to Cleveland every summer to intern while studying at American University. “I want to make sure all of you choose Cleveland – come back to the greatest city in America,” he roared to the crowd – to great applause.

 

Ronayne focused on retaining talent in his remarks: “We need to do a better job to retain you- and we will! Together we will grow as a great region,” he promised.

 

(There is already good news on that front; a recent New York Times story cited Cleveland as a region gaining workers with a college degree.)

 

 

Cavs mascot Moondog danced and took pictures with the attendees.

 

Interns won prizes from major regional businesses, including Cedar Point and Vitamix.

 

But the biggest winner of the evening was the Greater Cleveland, fortunate to see so many young, talented individuals come out to learn more about their summer home.

 

“Cleveland is ‘on the up,’” said Justin Croyle, a chemical engineering intern at Lubrizol, a rising senior at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and a Mentor native. “This is where I want to stay.”

 

Did you attend Summer in the Land? Are you an intern spending “summer in the land”? Share your experiences on social with the hashtag #SummerInTheLand