On July 24, TechPoint celebrated the conclusion of the 2026 XTERN summer program with the XTERN Awards & Celebration at the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis.
The celebration followed TechPoint’s Community Connect, which brought together employers, educators, workforce leaders and students for conversations about AI, talent and the future of work.
Read the Community Connect recap →
The event recognized the accomplishments of 103 XTERNs who spent the summer working across 31 Indiana companies. It also honored the students, mentors and employers who helped make the summer a meaningful professional and personal experience for this year’s cohort.
About XTERN
XTERN is TechPoint’s full-time summer internship program connecting high-potential college students with Indiana companies seeking emerging tech and business talent.
Students complete a paid internship with a participating employer while living alongside other members of the cohort and taking part in professional development, community engagement and social programming throughout the summer.
The program is designed to give students meaningful professional experience while helping them build relationships with employers, peers and leaders throughout Indiana’s tech community.
Reflecting on the 2026 XTERN Experience
Throughout the summer, the 2026 cohort gained hands-on experience in areas including software development, cybersecurity, data, artificial intelligence, IT, marketing and project management.
Outside of their internships, XTERNs participated in programming designed to help them understand Indiana’s industries, explore career opportunities and develop connections that can support them well beyond the summer.
During the celebration, XTERNs Kendall Troy of Elements Financial and Donggyu Yoon of Telamon reflected on their experiences in the program.
Troy shared how XTERN made it possible for her to pursue an internship in Indianapolis by providing housing, a sense of community and a supportive environment to explore new career paths. Her past experiences with TechPoint and XTERN Challenge, as well as her summer 2026 internship with Elements Financial, helped her pivot from marketing to data science, build confidence in her new direction and confirm that she could succeed in meaningful, real-world data work. She also discussed the importance of building connections that can help accelerate your progress.
Yoon shared how saying yes to one opportunity can lead to the next. His first XTERN Challenge helped him realize that he did not just enjoy writing code, but loved building new things, which led him to compete in hackathons across the country and continue developing his skills. His performance in a later challenge helped him earn his internship with Telamon, where mentors supported his growth and helped him pilot new ideas. Through XTERN, he also met his cofounder, and built connections with technology leaders and founders across Indiana, turning what he expected to be one more line on his resume into new skills, relationships and opportunities.
The event concluded with the presentation of seven awards recognizing students who demonstrated XTERN’s values, a mentor who created an exceptional environment for professional growth and an employer that delivered a meaningful internship experience.
2026 XTERN Value Awards
Each year, XTERN employers nominate students who embodied one of the program’s five values: Gratitude, Inclusion, Grit, Investment and Growth.
Dozens of nominations described students who embraced new challenges, supported their peers and made meaningful contributions to their employers throughout the summer.
Gratitude: Audrey Oxley, Indigo BioAutomation
Audrey Oxley was recognized for approaching a new industry and each of her assignments with enthusiasm, curiosity and genuine appreciation.
Her nominator, Lucy Olmstead, described how Audrey demonstrated gratitude not only by expressing thanks but through her kindness, intentionality and consideration for others. Her willingness to embrace unfamiliar work at the intersection of marketing and healthcare strengthened both her own experience and the team around her.
Inclusion: Patrick Green, Sallie Mae
Patrick Green earned the Inclusion Award for making accessibility and usability central to his summer work.
While developing a dashboard template, Patrick incorporated company branding, data visualization standards and accessibility principles into a framework that could be used across the organization. His nominator highlighted his use of colorblind-friendly design, readability standards and visual perception principles to help more people engage effectively with information.
Grit: Sankalp Srivastava, Sallie Mae
Sankalp Srivastava was recognized for the persistence and preparation he demonstrated while completing a challenging design project.
Although he had never written a design document before, Sankalp worked through multiple iterations, practiced with his teammates and presented his recommendations to senior developers. His ability to explain his approach, answer questions and support his decisions with research reflected both his work ethic and his growing confidence.
Investment: Will Daugherty, V2X
Will Daugherty received the Investment Award for committing his time and energy to his own development, the growth of his peers and the success of his team.
Will worked to master advanced analysis and design tools while helping establish a support group within the analysis team. His leadership on the intern project and his willingness to guide others demonstrated an investment that extended beyond his individual responsibilities.
Growth: Kayla Johnson, Havarti Risk
Kayla Johnson earned the Growth Award for persevering through an unfamiliar and technically challenging project.
While working on an Allocation AI Agent connected to a reserving process she had not previously encountered, Kayla continued learning even when early progress was slow. Her growing understanding ultimately helped her deliver meaningful work that her team plans to use moving forward.
2026 XTERN Mentor of the Year
Mentors play a critical role in shaping an intern’s experience. They provide technical guidance, explain how organizations operate, encourage professional growth and create the trust students need to take on unfamiliar challenges.
The 2026 Mentor of the Year nominees were:
- John Bohling, Elements Financial
- Bob Burger, Indigo BioAutomation
- Jeff Cuartas, Sallie Mae
- Dennis Huh, Tenon
- Nathanael LaPointe, V2X
- Richard Lucchetti, V2X
- Desiree Morehouse, Tenon
- Mary Perez, hc1
- Matthew Pische, Sallie Mae
- Aakarsh Sinha, Sallie Mae
- Mason Snyder, V2X
- Kathleen Stevenson, Indesign
- Benjamin Wachtel, TechPoint
Mentor of the Year: Mary Perez, hc1
Mary Perez was named the 2026 XTERN Mentor of the Year after being nominated by hc1 XTERN Amruta Killampalli.
Amruta described Mary as a mentor who created a safe environment for questions while helping her navigate her first professional role. When Amruta encountered a production issue that required a feature to be rolled back, Mary helped her understand that setbacks are a normal part of software development and shifted the focus toward identifying and solving the problem.
Mary also explained the reasoning behind software engineering processes, shared resources and introduced Amruta to other professionals who could support her continued development.
2026 XTERN Employer of the Year
The Employer of the Year Award recognizes a company that provided meaningful work, a collaborative environment and opportunities for interns to contribute and grow.
The 2026 Employer of the Year nominees were:
Employer of the Year: V2X
V2X was named the 2026 XTERN Employer of the Year based on multiple nominations from students across its intern cohort.
XTERNs consistently described receiving meaningful assignments from the beginning of the summer rather than being limited to administrative work or isolated intern projects. Students contributed to products and solutions intended for real users while receiving guidance from engineers and other team members invested in their development.
Students also highlighted the community V2X created through weekly intern events, accessible employees and a culture where questions and collaboration were encouraged.
The combination of meaningful work, invested mentors and an intentional intern community made V2X the 2026 Employer of the Year.
Looking Ahead to XTERN 2027
The conclusion of the summer program is not the end of the relationships built through XTERN.
The experiences, skills and professional connections developed over the summer will continue to shape how these students approach their education and careers. Employers also have the opportunity to remain connected with students who now understand their organizations, industries and teams.
Planning is already underway for the next XTERN class. Companies interested in connecting with emerging talent and students interested in building their careers in Indiana can learn more about the program on the XTERN webpage.
Congratulations to the 2026 XTERN class and to every student, mentor and employer recognized during this year’s celebration.
Read about TechPoint’s Community Connect, presented by Google →
XTERNs Talk AI and Career Skills at TechPoint’s Second Programming Weekend →
XTERN Kicks Off Summer at TechPoint’s First Programming Weekend →
Applications Open July 31
Compete alongside Indiana’s top student talent in a hands-on competition built around a real business problem. Get nominated by your school and apply for the next Challenge starting July 31, hosted by MISO.
