Internship leads to career in tech manufacturing for new Eagle alumnus

Colin Kalivas, ’25, somehow knew he would be an EWU Eagle.

Kalivas, a Spokane native, grew up going to Eastern football games with his dad and says he always felt drawn to the school. That instinctual appeal did indeed lead him eventually to Cheney, where he earned a B.S. degree in business marketing and gained valuable friendships.

While here, he also landed an internship at Spokane Valley-based telecommunications equipment maker EasyStreet Systems Inc., which resulted in a full-time job there after graduation and launched his current career in sales.

“I remember as young as fifth grade being drawn to Eastern’s logos and the fact that it was a local school that I thought was really cool,” Kalivas says. “Somehow I just knew that I would go there.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit during Kalivas’ junior year at West Valley High School, he started taking online classes at Eastern through the Running Start program. After graduating from high school, he took an additional year of classes at Eastern then studied for a year at Washington State University in Pullman before moving to Cheney to complete his degree at EWU. In addition to his business marketing major, he earned a minor in psychology.

Last summer, before his final quarter at Eastern, Kalivas started a full-time internship at telecommunications equipment maker EasyStreet Systems. The company’s co-founder Pete Chase had been looking for a college student or recent graduate with little sales experience but a strong work ethic and desire to learn. Kalivas turned out to be the perfect fit. That summer, he worked at EasyStreet during the day and at the Davenport Grand Hotel downtown in the evenings. He continued to work full-time at the company this fall while taking a full load of classes at Eastern.

Kalivas’ internship involved conducting market research and assisting in generating sales leads. He also helped to redesign the company’s marketing materials, manage its social media accounts, and overhaul its website. He says one of the biggest highlights was traveling with Chase to Denver for a trade show, which proved instrumental to both his personal and professional development.

“I got to learn from Pete but also figure out on my own how to talk to future customers, build relationships, and get meetings scheduled,” he says.

When Kalivas graduated in December, EasyStreet offered him a full-time job as an account manager. Tammy Lange, the company’s vice president of sales, says Kalivas’ initiative, creative input and willingness to help wherever needed made him stand out immediately.

“As a small company, we have to wear a lot of different hats, and Colin has done a really good job of moving things forward without constant supervision,” Lange says. “He’s had no problem stepping up and being willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, and it’s been pretty impressive to watch for our whole team.”

Lange says EasyStreet places a high value on internships because college students are typically eager to learn as well as to contribute fresh ideas. In turn, the company’s executives desire to provide a training ground for the next generation of professionals.

“If you can give a young person a positive learning environment, and they’re willing to jump in and do the work, an internship can give them important job experience,” Lange says. “It’s also good for our company, and we’re hoping for the local community as well.”

Kalivas says he’s not only acquired important skills and experience through his time at EasyStreet, but he has also gained important mentors. Those real-world experiences and relationships have helped bolster his education and early career in ways that will impact the rest of his life.

“Applied learning is huge,” he says. “The key to having a good understanding of what you’re learning in college is to apply it as soon as you learn the information while it’s fresh in your brain, and then when you’re looking for a job, the biggest thing is experience, which is what makes internships so important.”

Kalivas says that in addition to internships, he would advise current college students to get as involved on campus as they can, not only to add activities to their resume but to develop friendships that can benefit them long term.

“Make the most of your time on campus and take advantage of every opportunity, because you’re not just paying for an education,” he says. “It can be as simple as making more friends, because those connections are going to be so huge later on, not just in your professional success but in your life as a whole.”