Building the Future of Software Development: Inside Gateway’s Internship Program

Since launching its Internship Program in 2019, Gateway has made strategic investments when it comes to nurturing future technology talent, particularly in the software development field. Designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and professional software development, the 12-week summer program provides college students and recent graduates with meaningful, hands-on experience while strengthening Gateway’s long-term talent pipeline.

Running annually from mid-May through early August, the program typically welcomes six software developer interns each year. On occasion, Gateway also offers a senior internship role to exceptional former interns who return with additional experience and honed interest.

A Comprehensive Recruitment Process
Recruitment begins each October as Gateway partners with colleges and universities throughout the region and beyond to introduce students to the program. Company representatives visit campuses to host information sessions, sometimes joined by former interns who share firsthand insights into their experience. Gateway also provides digital and printed materials to Computer Science departments, enabling faculty members to connect interested students with the opportunity.

The application period opens in mid-October, launching a highly competitive selection process. This year, Gateway received nearly 500 applications for the program and conducted more than 75 initial phone interviews before advancing approximately 65 candidates to technical interviews.

This round of interviews is conducted by a panel of Gateway software developers who evaluate candidates on far more than technical knowledge alone. Interviewers assess problem-solving ability, critical thinking, communication skills, and the practical application of programming concepts through real-world scenarios.

Following the interviews, the development team collaborates to review candidate evaluations and discuss recommendations. The process culminates in the selection of six interns, along with two alternate candidates, who receive personal offers from Gateway.

Delivering a Real-World Development Experience
The internship experience begins before the first day on the job. In April, Gateway hosts an open house, allowing interns to tour the campus, meet employees, and become familiar with the workplace before the program officially begins.

Once the internship starts in May, participants are immersed in a hybrid environment that closely mirrors the experience of a full-time software developer.

Interns work in pairs on development projects and collaborate as a group as needed. Each team is supported by a technical mentor who provides programming guidance, conducts code reviews, and helps interns strengthen their technical skills. Program managers oversee project execution, while interns participate in daily scrum meetings and regular one-on-one sessions with Gateway’s Senior Developer and Internship Manager.

Rather than assigning hypothetical exercises, Gateway has interns work on projects that create measurable business value. “We give them projects that are directly used by employees or customers of Gateway,” Wendy Yambor, Senior Developer and Internship Manager, said.

“This year’s interns have collaborated with a team of 4 to port an attachment-removal app from VB.NET to C#, write more than 430 unit tests to ensure application functionality, and add search features based on stakeholder requests. This reduced time between API calls by almost 200 times through proper adherence to rate limits.

The interns also designed a Windows service to sync and embed files between internal company knowledge base and Azure blob storage for AI RAG pipeline, used by 75% of employees. They utilized .NET development framework to write efficient, readable C# code, and evaluated and drew up testing reports for quality assurance of an additional project.

Also, the interns built an automated testing framework dashboard from the ground up to replace a legacy, disjoint set of automated testing tools. This tool is being used by all developers in the company who need to execute automated software testing on a swarm of test machines. In combination, this gives interns experience with technologies widely used in today’s enterprise software environments.

Investing Beyond Technical Skills
While technical development is central to the program, Gateway also recognizes the importance of preparing students for long-term career success.

Throughout the summer, interns participate in a Life Skills series that covers topics essential to entering the workforce. Sessions include employee benefits, retirement planning, résumé development, LinkedIn best practices, interview preparation, mock interviews, and professional business etiquette.

The curriculum continues to evolve each year in response to changing workplace expectations and feedback from previous participants, ensuring students graduate with both technical expertise and professional confidence.

Creating Value for Students, Graduates and Gateway
The internship program reflects Gateway’s commitment to investing in the future of the software development profession while cultivating its own talent pipeline.

For students and recent graduates, the experience provides meaningful exposure to enterprise software development, collaborative project work, and professional mentoring. Former interns consistently report that the program closely replicates the expectations and pace of a full-time software development role, helping them transition more confidently from college to career.

“Having the opportunity to be a part of Gateway’s internship program has been instrumental in preparing me to go into the workforce as a software developer. It gave me an environment in which I felt comfortable learning while also making real contributions to the work the company does,” Vincent Allen, Senior Software Development Intern, said. “That collaborative process pushed me to develop soft skills that school doesn’t really teach, including how to communicate across teams, incorporate feedback, and work toward a shared goal. That combination led to my biggest takeaway: I can tackle any technical project that comes my way, and my time here is a big part of why I believe that.”

For Gateway, the program has become an effective recruiting strategy that supports long-term workforce development.

“Internships are crucial in nurturing potential into capability. By investing in emerging talent today, we build a stronger, more innovative workforce for tomorrow while creating a sustainable pipeline of future leaders,” Michael Andre, President and CEO of Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc., said. “We’re pleased to do this from our headquarters in Eastern Pennsylvania.”

Over the past six years, Gateway has hired 22 former interns into full-time positions. Today, 15 employees who began their careers through the internship program continue to work at Gateway, demonstrating the program’s lasting impact on employee retention and career growth. One former intern is celebrating his 30^th anniversary with Gateway this year, highlighting the long-term value of investing in emerging talent.

Looking Ahead
Gateway continues to refine and expand the internship experience each year. In addition to technical development, the program now includes enhanced team-building activities and increased opportunities for interns to collaborate with employees both in person and remotely.

“Every year we try to make it more and more like a real-life experience,” Yambor said. “We use the valuable feedback we receive from our interns to continuously improve the program. We want to keep improving.”

As demand for skilled software developers continues to grow, Gateway’s internship program demonstrates how intentional investment in early-career talent can create lasting value for both aspiring professionals and the organization itself.