Week 2

For me, that exuberant burst of insight frequently vocalized by a triumphant and/or ecstatic “Aha!” arrived to me yesterday more in the form of a gradual and welcome realization—a realization precipitated by a sizeable amount of internal musing and external influence. This week’s Lunch and Learn, which consisted of a panel of Fairway employees who shared with us the varied and often totally indirect trajectories of their careers, was equally enlightening as though quite different from last week’s event. If there's one thing I’ve carried away with me from yesterday, though, it's a simple but wonderful reassurance that everything after the rapidly approaching end of college will, indeed, be okay…that I will eventually (be it after several months or several years of working in the fearsome real world) find an occupation I truly love and at which I excel. I’ve been thinking (hoping) for some time that it’s just not normal, or at least not completely common (or imperative), to figure out exactly what one is meant to do immediately after graduating from college; yesterday’s speakers, a majority of whom talked about how they sampled a myriad of different career paths before finally settling into their current positions, only solidified my hopeful notion.

All that being said, I’ve certainly learned a great deal having worked here for nearly two full weeks now—not necessarily “Aha!”-worthy learnings, but learnings nonetheless. For example: work clothes are surprisingly delightfully comfortable. There is definitely no use in crying over spilt milk, or spilt tea. One can never go to bed early enough. Researching scientific laboratory procedures is so much more interesting (and somehow so much more understandable) when one is no longer a pre-med student. Talking on the phone really isn’t scary at all but actually enjoyable. Just this afternoon I discovered that test tube racks are actually a pretty awesome science tool, and the sort of thought that pours into their design and sale is kind of fascinating. The list goes on, and I’m sure more will be added each and every day here at I work here.

Week Two

I am not quite sure what my “aha” moment has been. In the Lunch and Learn the speakers tended to use it to reference some instance where they realized something somewhat monumental in regards to their career. I don’t think I have quite got there a week and a half into my first ever legitimate internship… Obviously I still have a ton to learn and a lot of time to decide if what I am learning is what I want to do after college, but a couple of things I have realized thus far:

1) Waking up at 7am is not fun.
2) I need more dress shirts
3) Video editing is not easy
4) People don’t know what the term cornhole means (bags, baggo, same thing)
5) There is (debatably) some actual use to twitter and facebook

Overall though, this has really been a great experience thus far. One thing I have definitely realized is how important it is to like what you’re doing. Some things I am working on here, I really like, and it makes time fly and everything seem enjoyable.
Unfortunately that works in the complete opposite way when I do things that aren’t my favorite; maybe that “aha” moment can just be simplified to finding a career you truly enjoy.

Week 2

This morning I overheard someone in the office exclaim, "they (a customer) had an Aha Moment," as she shared highlights from the ISTE tradeshow and re-settled into the LR office. The LR office bustles again as the team of Learning Resources reps/ ISTE attendees return from the four-day event and back to the stomping grounds of Fairway Drive.

Funnily enough, this week's topic is about "aha moments." When I read the topic Julie posted yesterday, I began to brainstorm what I would include in this post. My original plan was to begin with something clever like talking about Oprah's trumpetting "AHA!" blurt in her show years ago and coining the phrase Aha Moment thereafter. But I'll deviate from Plan A a little and write more on a whim.

The phrase is pretty intuitive to understand because it's self-explanatory, like chocolate chip cookie or vanilla-flavored cupcakes, but aha moments are different in that can vary by situation and culminate in different ways; they can be little battles won on a daily basis, or they can be monumental occasions, critical turning points, that have been years in the making and, or, struggle.

It would be funny to run through all the little aha moments I've had since starting the internship, because who doesn't like to laugh about someone's clumsy/naive/silly stories every once in a while? It's refreshing. I guess a good example of this would be the realization of mine to not drive to work on the left lane of the highway. Yesterday, I was driving 70mph in the left lane and noticed that a black sedan was following closely behind. The sedan then switched one lane to the right and subsequently switched back to our original lane, and passed me up. The driver also rolled down his window to gesture that I should leave the left lane because of my slow(er) driving. Lesson learned - kind of.

However, for the purposes of maintaining my arsenal of comical entertainment (because it's limited), I want to view my aha moments in a more serious light. I haven't arrived at an Aha Moment since beginning my time at LR, and I can't be certain that I will after the internship is over. Because, to me, aha moments culminate unexpectedly from a cloud of months or years of rumination and bring a moment of precise clarity, which will subsequently fuel me with unwavering determination.

What I have received from my two weeks at LR is a string of events and conversations that I think will contribute to my arrival at this moment. I've been told to not be afraid of failure and to not always feel like I need to fulfill a rubric of expectations, as a lot of my educational background has ingrained in me. Allowing myself to tackle Michelle's and Mike's projects with full speed while enjoying the ride while I do it will be a delicate balance I need to find for myself.

Life is a journey, part of the fun is taking different paths

What a great "lunch and learn today", hearing so many great personal career stories.  My favorite take away, there is often a "aha" moment, and those moments' should be embraced; who knows what the next step in life will bring.

So scholars, what was your "aha" moment last week? was it realizing your alarm was going to go off for 10 more weeks? maybe that you actually like working? or that with all the food around here you are going to gain 10 pounds?  Anxious to hear your thoughts...

First week as a Fairway Talent Summer Scholar

While normally, the first day of work means a stomach full of butterflies, such jitters disappeared upon entering Learning Resources. My manager and Talent Acquisition Leader here at Fairway Talent greeted me at the door, taking me on a tour of the brightly lit office. Balloons and welcome signs hung from the door of her office, and flowers and a goodie bag awaited me at the desk. If the real world looks as cheery and welcoming as Fairway Talent/Learning Resources, being a rising Senior at Northwestern is not the end of the world after all.

The week continued on this welcoming note, as I seemed to meet one friendly face after another. Since Julie and Fairway Talent serve as a shared resources for each of the seven holding companies,I had the opportunity to explore three of the buildings that first day, as well as to meet a variety of employees from each. I couldn't help but be excited as I shook hands with the Chairman, President of each, and other Managers, and felt even more so at our first Lunch and Learn. Here, we not only got to know these Presidents and Managers over a delicious lunch, but we also held a Q&A session with Rick Woldenberg, Chairman of Learning Resources, Inc. His experience, career path, and advice was quite fascinating, and I left the Lunch & Learn eager to learn more about the companies.

Luckily, I discovered the next few days that my position as a Fairway Talent allows for exactly that, as part of my job on the People team entails getting to know each department at Learning Resources, Daigger, and Heathrow. As Julie recruits for every opening between the companies, she understands the responsibilities, needs, and values of managers and executives of each. I too will get to know the workings behind the many departments as I help Julie sift through candidates and new hires. Additionally, as I help launch the Fairway Talent webpage and Linkedin page, I will gain an even better understanding of the interactions, similarities, and differences between the seven companies and their leaders. I look forward to developing this knowledge, and I have a hunch that my first day's warm greeting will not end as I enter into the next few weeks here at Fairway Talent.

Week 1 at ETA/Cuisenaire

Today is officially Day 5 here at ETA/Cuisenaire! Since joining the Marketing Department on Monday as an intern, I've been able to learn and use the company's new IT Database system, S.T.E.P. Right now, I'm working with two other people in Marketing, Katie and Lynne, to help get the new database up and running, so that it can be used to create this year's upcoming catalog. This includes populating and checking product descriptions as well as figuring out ways to make the system easy-to-use from a creative standpoint. With over 8000 products, the process has required us to learn and solve many problems as we've encounter them. The process has been both challenging and rewarding, and its very interesting to see how everyone is working together to implement the new database for the entire company. Both Katie and Lynne have also been so helpful during this past week in getting me up to speed on the marketing and creative processes for ETA/Cuisenaire.

Yesterday, the company welcomed its new CEO as its current one will be retiring. I'm excited to see how ETA/Cuisenaire gradually makes this transition throughout the summer. I've also had the pleasure to speak with both the outgoing and incoming CEO's as well as many other people in the office. In just 5 days, I'm already starting to feel comfortable and part of this company; everyone has been so welcoming and helpful, and I look forward to getting to know the company, its people, and the other interns over next 9 weeks!

Some non-business related perks that I have discovered:
- The close proximity of the mall and more importantly, Starbucks
- The gym (that I have yet to use) attached to my building

Until next week,

Jenny

Week 1

Hello, my name is Max and I started working this week as a marketing intern in Heathrow Scientific. This is my first experience working a traditional 9-5 job, well 8:30 to 4:30 in our case, and it has been quite an adjustment. Yet, all the staff at Heathrow have been really welcoming and helpful. Diane, my boss, in particular has been great about helping me out, and getting me up to speed with the company. I really appreciate her dedication to making sure I get the most out of this experience.
She has developed a list of projects for me to work on for Heathrow that really span a wide range of different marketing areas. My main project involves creating, editing, and lets not forget staring in around 20 demonstrational videos of Heathrow’s products, uploading them to the company website and syncing them with all types of social media sights including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Besides that I am working on creating the 3rd quarter newsletter for the company as well as a number of press releases and product launch kits. All of this is very new to me and it’s hard not to feel a bit overwhelmed the first week, but overall I really am thankful for how supportive the entire Heathrow team has been so far and I am really excited to do these tasks to the best of my ability.

Week 1

Hello! My name is Jordan and I'm working for Daigger, primarily as a marketing intern. In this position, I'm currently conducting research to provide new information that will be presented on the company's website; eventually, I will be working with one of my managers to both find a compelling means of presenting this information on the website and to enhance the overall presence of the Daigger on the web. Having worked at a pool as a lifeguard for the past 3 summers, my internship at Daigger couldn't be any more different from what I'm accustomed to. Yet I'm extremely excited for the weeks to come and am eager to learn as much as possible about working for this company. Moreover, I can't wait to collaborate with my fellow summer scholars on our social media-focused final project.

As I sit writing this at my desk here at Daigger at the end of my first week here, I'm surprised not only at how quickly I'm adapting to the 8-hour work day I've never before experienced but also by the rapid approach of the real world. It's pretty cool to be here as a rising senior in college and fully partake in the entirely foreign universe of office life. I think one of the best parts of this week has been the Lunch and Learn with Rick Woldenberg, the CEO of Daigger. He sat down with the summer scholars to answer our questions regarding his position, the challenges he has faced, his path towards becoming a CEO, and so on. It was truly fascinating to hear about his experiences, thoughts, and opinions, and I look forward to finding out what the other Lunch and Learns have to offer.

Week 1

Hi everyone! My name is Emerly Soong and I am the summer scholar for Learning Resources. This summer I will dip my feet into the fields of web marketing and digital strategy under the mentorship of Michelle Bougie and Michael Alm, respectively. The purpose of this blog is to provide a snapshot of my (and fellow interns') experiences throughout the summer, to take some time to reflect on the significance of some of these experiences, and to share them with the Fairway family and establish a conversation - even with people outside the company walls.

Though my time at LR has recently just begun and I have yet to fully discover the ins and outs of the company, my impression of the people and environment here have been forming since the day I interviewed with Jeni Neuman at Northwestern's University Career Services Center back in April. Jeni asked questions about my experiences under pressure, moments in which communication played a vital role in the success of a project, and if, and how, I've established a sense of balance in college - academically, socially, and extracurricularly. The interview flowed smoothly - Jeni was able to form an impression about me as a possible candidate for the internship, and I began to form an impression of my own about the Fairway companies. A salient theme I've noticed since the interview is that LR and its sister companies place an emphasis on providing clear communication, whether it be to its employees or consumers through marketing strategy. Julie Jacobs consistently sent the interns emails about the Summer Scholar program and helped us develop an early sense of the companies by sending catalogs (and popcorn!) that we'd each work for. Julie and Sarah Person also made a trip to campus to meet with the interns face to face. My managers Mike and Michelle contacted me soonafter and we had a Skype session in which we informally introduced oursevles and began to form a conversation. The companies' emphasis on communication provides an appropriate foray into the Summer Scholar Project that the six interns will tackle - to assess the current social media presence (Twitter, Facebook, ect) of the companies and to provide strategies to fully integrate social media into the overall marketing scheme.

I have already been assigned my first projects in digital strategy and web marketing at LR. Currently, I am working with Mike to research trade shows that have a focus on digital products for the company to visit. I am using an online tool that is new to me to gather this information called SmartSheet, an Excel-esque program that allows the owner of a document to easily share a project by sending an invite for viewership to others . It's interesting and exciting to witness the digital strategy department utilize a tool that aligns with new technology itself. Michelle and I are working with a program called Omniture to analyze the health of the company's online website and effectiveness of its social media efforts. The goal of this project is to determine areas of improvement for LR's online presence and implement new strategies that procure the improvement.

I anticipate to be challenged both intellectually (as I expand my knowledge about how a business works and well, the real world, too) and socially. Mike and Rick Woldenberg have both said that emotional intelligence is as equally important as intellectual intelligence. So I will be challenged socially to understand and foster a meaningful relationship with the diverse individuals who make up this environment. In effect, I have an inkling that I'll grow a lot internally this summer.

This has been a long post. Whew. One last thing: I anticipate to re-evaluate my answers to the questions Jeni Newman asked me in April. How will I handle pressure, communicate effectively, and balance my summer plans in respect to this internship? Stay tune for that post in about eight weeks.

Week 1

My name is Ellen and I am working in Product Development at Heathrow Scientific. As Julie mentioned, this is our first week at work and it has been great. The Heathrow team has been extremely welcoming and helpful in bringing me up to date with the happenings of the company. Mic, my boss, has been proactive about exposing me to the different components of product development and the company in general, a perk of working at a small company. I have enjoyed the opportunity to sit in on meetings to learn about the dynamics between the Product Development, Sales, and Marketing teams.

Yesterday, we had our first Lunch and Learn. We were able to ask questions to Rick Woldenberg, the CEO of Daigger. His background in chemical engineering and law, and his experience in working in a family business gave him a unique perspective on the role of a leader. He was insightful and well-spoken in giving us advice for our future careers. Julie also introduced the project that all of the interns will work on together. We are going to focus on media marketing, an area that I am excited to explore. I look forward to learning from the other interns, especially because we all have different academic backgrounds and skills to bring to the table.

It is interesting to see how my classes at Northwestern are applied to an actual company. I think this will be one of the most rewarding aspects of this internship.

It's our Summer Scholars first week!

Hey Summer Scholars! How is your first week on the job?  We'd love to hear about your experiences from hire to first day!