Wearing many hats
Nick Sommer ’15 – Growing up working in a small family business, I accustomed to working in an environment where everyone is close to each other, and every worker wears many different hats. Finding Connecta Corporation has to be one of the closest internships I could have found to my family’s small business. In this small manufacturing business of small precision parts, I have put my liberal arts education to the test while working through the long list of a variety of projects to be completed by the end of the summer. Working for a company of this size (less than 20 employees) I have to produce quality work and contribute immensely in order to help the company continue to do business.
My work this summer has required me to wear many different hats as one may say. I’ve done jobs from repairing parts, to accounting work, and even marketing. Since I started later in the summer, I was thrown into the middle of a huge project: completely redesigning the way the company stocks their raw material. This system involves reorganizing material into PVC pipes, separating them by material, alloy, and purchase number. My to-do-list for this summer has also included updating the company’s website and creating and posting on the company’s social media pages, along with many other miscellaneous tasks. My fellow intern, an engineering student at Butler University, and I have created videos, sales brochures, and bounced ideas back and forth in order to improve and modernize the company’s marketing capabilities.
What have I learned from this experience? Well, it would be tough to squeeze everything I’ve learned into one blog. One aspect that I have learned is not only vital in a business setting, but in everyday life as well. This is accountability. Since this is such a small business, you are expected to pull your weight and complete each and every job in a timely manner. The business is like a team; where everyone is expected to do their part and work together in order to be successful. I know I can rely on anyone here in the company for help and I can count on them as more than just co-workers.
I would like to thank the Lilly Endowment, Inc. for making this internship possible. Having real world experience is very important for any student to gain before graduating from college, and what Lilly Endowment provides for students like me is awesome. I would also like to thank Mr. Scott Crawford and Mr. Alan Pyle ‘67 for giving me this opportunity to work for Connecta Corp.
