The meet the leader sessions were awesome, I loved those. The sponsorship for the Summer in the City events were always a blast. In my opinion I felt the emphasis on us being there, like the whole company accepts the interns and they provide you so many opportunities to grow and be challenged. Be it in your projects, volunteering or just building relationships with your coworkers.

I don't think this can be changed, but I didn't like how there was almost a cut throat attitude among some of the interns who were competing against each other for the limited full time spots within their department. I understand that selection is necessary, but I just thought it added unnecessary drama and stress to the internship. I also felt there were politics to who joined the committees and stepped up to participate in events during the summer. Like if I didn't do something I would look bad in the eyes of HR or the company.

Talk to all the other interns and make friendships as fast as you can, it will be one of the best parts of the internship. It will also help a ton to get you through any hard times. Also, network and meet with as many leaders as you can. They have a ton of knowledge and wisdom, and they're usually honest about the company and their experience which can give you insight to the question of "Is OC the fit for you".

I think having an HR mentor would have been nice, but I don't know if that's feasible.

Yes