CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (Feb. 26, 2026) — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.) students are learning that an internship with Synchrony is a great way to jumpstart their careers. A leading consumer financial services company, Synchrony powers tens of millions of customers at hundreds of thousands of businesses – from major retailers like Lowe’s, Sam’s Club and Amazon to small and medium-sized merchants that rely on consumer financing. Synchrony’s products provide the financial flexibility customers want to buy and pay for the things that matter to them. U. of I. contributes to that success through a partnership with Synchrony to advance innovation and prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow. More than 400 U. of I. students have gained hands-on experience at the Synchrony Emerging Technology Center (ETC), with some going on to land full-time jobs at Synchrony. Synchrony’s ETC is located within Research Park, a technology hub where companies are embedded on the U. of I. campus to accelerate innovation. This year, Synchrony expanded the ETC to nearly 11,000 square feet, doubling down on its investment in developing Illinois’ tech talent through skills training in AI, data science, engineering and human-centered design – an extension of Synchrony’s broader education initiatives to [expand credit access and] build strong financial foundations for Americans. On the Fast-Track: From Intern to Innovator Amy Chen, an information systems major (Class of 2023), started as a Synchrony intern in her sophomore year, working out of the ETC during the school year. Don’t let the “intern” title fool you. Amy took on real responsibilities from Day One—helping to develop a desk booking reservation app for Synchrony’s hybrid workspaces, analyzing customer experience improvements and designing user interfaces. The internship led to her acceptance into Synchrony’s two-year Business Leadership Program (BLP) in the summer of 2022, which is designed to accelerate the careers of tomorrow’s leaders. She joined a team building an app for the Apple Vision Pro headset and even demonstrated the new app to the company’s board of directors. “My managers have made it clear that I am valued, and that my work makes an impact,” Amy says. “With Synchrony, I see a future I’m excited about.” Now as a full-time technical product lead with the emerging payments team, Amy works on digital payment solutions like Google Pay and Apple Pay. Where Learning Powers Real-World Impact Yousef Ahmad (Class of 2023) was introduced to Synchrony at a U. of I. Datathon, where students selected company prompts to solve real-world problems. Majoring in econometrics and quantitative economics, Yousef chose Synchrony’s challenge to streamline call center operations and was inspired by the trust the company placed in participants to source and analyze their own data. This led to a Synchrony externship during Yousef’s sophomore year, followed by an internship at the Emerging Tech Center and selection to the company’s Business Leadership Program. During his BLP experience, Yousef participated in a hackathon at Synchrony headquarters in Stamford, CT where he and his team took second place for a proposal aimed at creating a faster customer experience. He also enjoyed community service projects organized by Synchrony, volunteering to pack backpacks and meals at local schools. “Every week, you learned something new, and you’re surrounded by people who you could learn from — senior executives as well as peers,” he said. “It was awesome.” Today, Yousef works full-time at Synchrony in model optimization, helping to maintain the efficiency of credit and risk models that underpin the company’s offerings. Visualizing the Future Like Amy and Yousef, Class of 2026 ETC intern Dylan Subramanian is on the fast track. He has made the journey to the BLP program and already has a job lined up with Synchrony after graduation in June 2026. A combined computer science and economics major, he started at Synchrony in summer 2024, working on projects like developing an automated system that reissues credit cards flagged for fraud. Dylan’s biggest accomplishment so far has been developing a sophisticated data visualization— a digital globe that maps credit card applications — that he prototyped in Javascript. He presented it to senior leadership and expanded it during hackathons by integrating the project into larger dashboards and demonstrating its real business impact. “One of my favorite parts of my experience at Synchrony has been the focus on innovation and collaboration,” Dylan says. “Hackathons and brainstorming sessions challenged me to build creative projects and offered incredible opportunities for learning and personal growth. Synchrony’s emphasis on cutting-edge technology and teamwork has truly been a highlight of my time here.” Those words are especially gratifying to Karin Dor Markovich, Associate Vice President, Technology Early Career Programs at Synchrony and leader of the ETC. “We focus on providing students’ real-world experience and help them pursue careers in tech, data science, and other areas of our business,” she says. “We do that by offering a flexible, student-centered approach that fosters skills valued by employers like problem-solving and communication. The students do the rest — it’s rewarding to see them succeed, and we’re proud to continue to grow this partnership.”
