In May, Cardinal Health welcomed its newest class of interns, 65 college students from 30-plus universities around the world. For 10 to 12 weeks, they gain real-world, on-the-job experience, supporting seasoned leaders across the enterprise. “Our summer internship program offers students an opportunity to work on meaningful projects that build critical skills and lay the foundation for their professional careers,” said Brian Moore, VP, Talent Acquisition. “Interns benefit us with fresh perspectives that help tackle real business challenges. Their contributions often lead to improved processes, increased efficiency, cost savings and lasting organizational value. We have hired many interns over the years who have built successful careers and progressed to leadership roles at Cardinal Health.”
Today, National Intern Day, we highlight six of these outstanding students. Here, they share a little bit about themselves, what attracted them to Cardinal Health and what they’re learning this summer.
Dakota Davis | The Ohio State University | Columbus, Ohio
Davis is working from Cardinal Health headquarters in Dublin, Ohio. As a finance major, Davis is mastering skills with the Strategic Finance team, developing models and dashboards in Excel, SAP and Tableau (a visual analytics platform).
He has been most surprised by the exposure to leadership he’s had throughout the summer. “I didn’t expect to have direct interactions with directors and senior leaders. It’s been valuable to learn from their perspectives and see how approachable they are.”
Davis is looking forward to building on what he’s learned during his internship and hopes to join the Embark early career leadership development program next year. “Hearing from Embark participants about their early career journeys has been incredibly insightful. Their stories gave me a clearer picture of what to expect post-graduation and helped me reflect on my own career goals.” Davis wants a career that values inclusivity- and opportunity for others.
Gabrielle Evans | North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University | Greensboro, N.C.
Evans is studying supply chain management, which drew her to Cardinal Health and its large, complex supply chain. Evans said she’s enjoyed developing her skills and building her professional network on-site at our Memphis, Tennessee pharmaceutical distribution center, helping to improve inventory management systems.
She values the practical experience she’s gaining, she said. She’s been able to apply SQL, a commonly used supply chain management tool that manages and analyzes data, in real-world supply chain management scenarios.
Motivated by her family and their support, Evans is proud that her work directly impacts the lives of patients and providers. “One thing I have learned about healthcare is the importance of logistics and operations,” she said. “No matter how removed a role may seem from its destination, every role plays a major in how it gets to our customers and the patients they serve.
Isabella Glinzler | The Ohio State University | Columbus, Ohio
Glinzler’s internship is based at Cardinal Health headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, where she is supporting the Pharmaceutical & Specialty Solutions (P&SS) team. This gave her the opportunity to attend our annual Retail Business Conference (RBC) in Denver, Colorado. This annual event brings together pharmacists and others from thousands of independent pharmacies to create strong connections, share innovative ideas and celebrate their importance to the health of their communities. Glinzler said the conference gave her great appreciation for these pharmacists. “Before my internship, I did not fully understand their scale and impact. It is inspiring to see the real-world impact Cardinal Health makes in supporting these essential healthcare providers.”
Glinzler emphasized how supportive she finds her Cardinal Health colleagues. “Whether it’s taking time to answer questions, offer guidance or simply being available, the team camaraderie is unlike anything I’ve seen before. I’m proud to have had the opportunity to intern with a company that values people, purpose and impact so deeply.”
Riya Porwal | Miami University | Oxford, Ohio
Porwal is analyzing data for the Global Medical Products and Distribution (GMPD) segment from Cardinal Health headquarters, developing her skills with analytics tools like Python, SQL and Tableau. This experience has helped her better understand the practical uses of these programs, which can be difficult to achieve in the classroom. “In school, sometimes it’s hard to fully understand real-life applications of these tools,” she explained. “However, now I have firsthand experience of retrieving complex data and translating it into meaningful information.”
Porwal learned quickly how data sets are uniquely important to each segment at Cardinal Health. “During my internship, I was surprised by the variety of approaches each analytics team uses to solve data-related problems,” she said.
Porwal has found that her growth as a data analyst this summer has helped her grow personally. “The connections I have formed have been most rewarding and valuable,” she said. “The beauty of data and analytics is there is no one ‘right’ way to come up with a solution to an ambiguous problem. Meeting people and learning from their experiences has made me a more curious person.”
Ingkhawat Thongbunyoo | Mahidol University | Salaya, Thailand
Thongbunyoo is working onsite in our surgical glove production center in Rayong, Thailand. As a chemical engineering major, he is using his summer internship to gain real-world experience in his field. He said he is proud that he tackled complex challenges this summer and has found each day interesting, solidifying his decided career path of becoming a chemical engineer.
Like his peers, Thongbunyoo is applying what he has learned in the classroom to his internship. “I have been able to implement the theory I have learned to quickly understand processes,” he said. “What I have studied has been extremely valuable in real-life application.”
Reflecting on his summer, he said, “I am very thankful in many ways. Working hands-on at Cardinal Health has driven me to redefine my personal and professional values. This experience has elevated the level of responsibility and standard of work that I wish to achieve in the future.”
In addition to their work, 60 interns gathered throughout Central Ohio in June to participate in a multi-site volunteer event, contributing a collective 126 hours of volunteer work. Here is a list of how they spent their time.
Caleb Mueller | Ohio Northern University | Ada, Ohio
One of the volunteers was Caleb Mueller, who is earning a double major in pharmaceutical and healthcare business and marketing at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, and interning in Dublin, supporting the Supplier Relations team in our OptiFreight® Logistics business. He spent the day at the Ronald McDonald House playing board games with patients and their families. He said the day was a powerful reminder of how a simple act, like playing board games, can bring some relief to a family going through an unimaginable time. “I can’t wait to do it again,” he said.
Thanks to Davis, Evans, Glinzler, Mueller, Porwal and Thongbunyoo for taking time to offer their perspectives and to all 65 Cardinal Health summer interns for their work this summer.
Applications for the summer 2026 internship program will open in early September. College juniors who are interested in the program can learn more and apply at cardinalhealth.com/college.