After completing an “Intro to AI” course in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS), Emma Bellai ’25 was eager to apply everything she learned in class to her internship with Verizon. Joining the Global Network and Technology team as an AI intern, the timing was perfect, as the AI boom in recent years opened exciting opportunities for exploration in this field.  

“One class is all it takes to make the difference and that’s what happened to me,” says Bellai, a computer science student.  

In just 10 weeks, Bellai explored how prompt engineering and personas are used in AI chatbots and her background in AI research was a huge help. Prompt engineering involves writing instructions that guide AI chatbots to respond to questions or complete tasks. Personas guide the chatbot’s tone of voice or the way the chatbot speaks. Using specific personas are a great way to make AI chatbots sound more human, which helps personalize their responses.    

“The chatbot would talk differently to a CEO than it would to a software engineer,” says Bellai. “The main focus of my work was seeing how to optimize personas for different people. To see the results of my work and having an application on the website that I worked on was very rewarding.”  

A typical day at the office involved researching the latest developments in AI, preparing presentations on new concepts she was learning and communicating with her team and personal mentor. Interns were encouraged to engage with others in the company through coffee chats, and Bellai had the opportunity to speak with many employees, including senior leadership and the CEO. 

“They wanted to hear from young voices and AI applications from my perspective,” says Bellai. “I got to speak with the CEO at least two or three times, which is great because I feel like at other companies, you don’t get that opportunity.” 

Interning with Verizon connected Bellai with the company’s extensive network of professionals, including Syracuse University alumni. She also had an opportunity to share her experiences and insights during a live stream to the entire company. Bellai’s hard work and enthusiasm for her role paid off, as she was offered a full-time position and will return to Verizon after graduation.  

“If you have a really great professor that makes you genuinely care about the topic you’re learning about, it can make such a big difference down the line,” says Bellai. “ECS gave me the confidence to go into the internship and I felt like I was put in a good position to thrive.”