Jared Woodward ’19 Connecta Corporation – Working for Connecta Corporation has been a great experience for me. I’ve been given the opportunity to experience many areas of small business from shop work, to management responsibilities. Being a political science major and a hopeful business lawyer, Connecta has been able to provide me with the whole scope of how the small business operates. With this summer being slower on the political side, I took the opportunity to dive into the business world in order to achieve a better understanding of business.
Connecta brought on two interns this summer due to the amount of projects that were made. The biggest of these and my focus, being a hopeful lawyer, was to update the company quality manual in accordance with the new industry standard revision released in 2016. It has been my job to create a new and updated company manual from scratch to fit this standard. I was told from the start that this would be no easy task as some people make a career out of doing this while I’m attempting to do this in two months; and by being new to the company, I would have to learn a lot quickly. In doing this, I had to first read through the AS9100 Aerospace and Defense Standard and understand it before I started my work. I then had to review Connecta’s old company manual and make notes on what to revise, update, and what to get rid of. With this version of the standard and with the company quality manual being almost obsolete, the company decided to start a new manual from scratch. With this in mind, I have been updating procedures to fit the new standard and writing new ones to meet the standard while reorganizing and assembling the new manual. While it has been no easy task and still a work in progress, it really has brought me closer to the company knowing how all actions of the company work from the manufacturing shop procedure to the management procedure. It has been a privilege to lead and be responsible with a project so challenging, time consuming, and so important to Connecta Corporation that it feels like I have joined the business world. With my interest in business law, this was a perfect starting task and a hopeful first step into my chosen career path. Other day to day tasks and projects have been given to me such as technology management, quality inspection, deliveries, and set up and install of company machines and technology. I’ve also been privileged in this job by being given my own office, free range responsibilities, meaningful and important tasks, and blessed to be able to work in a friendly environment. Connecta Corporation has been a great experience and opportunity for me. I want to thank the Small Business Internship Fund for providing me with this opportunity. I’m so thankful for them allowing me to be able to work in an environment that I know will make me successful.
