For students, internships are an exciting and crucial step between what you want to do and actually doing it.  You have to get the right balance of learning, growing your network, expanding your experience, and also having some fun along the way.  Very few companies can combine all of that, while giving you very real responsibilities and opportunities in the process.

NIO brought in 40 summer interns and gave us the most amazing experience anyone could have asked for.  From my very first day, I felt like I was part of the team. Here are some more reasons you should intern at NIO, straight from the people who just did.

1. Everyone wants you to succeed. Every member of your team wants to see you exceed your expectations because you are all working towards the same goal.
2. Free lunch. Every. Day.  Need I say more?  (There’s also free snacks.)
3. Your mistakes won’t break you.  Your manager and mentor want to help you learn as much as you can, so you can learn from your mistakes instead of fear them.
4. You’ll be busy.  A startup means everyone is always doing something, so don’t be surprised if there’s no down time between exciting projects! You’ll get used to working on several different projects at the same time.
5. The passion is contagious.  Everyone at NIO is here because they care about our vision.  You will definitely start to feel the same drive to accomplish your goals this when you intern here.
6. You’ll get hands-on experience.  Whether you’re programming, working in the lab, or 3D-printing models to test, you will get a lot of real-world experience.
7. You’ll be taught “tricks of the trade.”  Every week, interns listen to a presentation by an executive from the company who gives us advice on how to make it in their field, this industry, or just in life.  It’s a great opportunity to learn from some of the brightest minds in Silicon Valley.
8. You will do meaningful work.  As an intern at NIO, you will get the opportunity to work on things that will matter to the future of the company (you won’t just be making coffee runs). We also participated in events where we could give back to the community, like when we sorted over 12,000 lbs of grapefruit at the Second Harvest Food Bank.
9. You’ll learn a lot.  You will get skills in business, communication, and hard skills in your field that you can take with you back to school or apply to the real world.
10. You’ll have fun!  From food trucks at lunch to free ice cream to company picnics, there is a ton of fun to be had here at NIO!