This summer I had the opportunity to intern with Wabash alumnus Levi Kinney as he is preparing to open his restaurant, Boveda, in Broad Ripple, Indiana. The restaurant is due to be open this fall, so the summer was extremely busy as we put the pieces together to make that happen. I first started working with Levi through the CIBE innovation consultant program, and we enjoyed working together so we decided to roll the job over into the summer. I have had such an amazing and unique opportunity to see the restaurant project start as an idea and grow into the very real concept that it is today.
Throughout the summer I helped Levi with a number of different roles, beginning with a celebration dinner for the investors who made the project possible. Through that
experience and the rest of the summer, I learned the importance of relationships. A handshake and a personal connection go a very long way in our current society filled with emails and artificial intelligence.
I also gained experience working hands on in the restaurant industry with Levi. This was extremely helpful to me and the work I do with Levi through the CIBE because it gave me a better grasp of how the industry works. During the school year I will be doing sales and marketing for him because I will be in Crawfordsville, but because now I have that knowledge of how a restaurant is ran, I will be much more effective. I learned that in any role where you are trying to sell something, there is nothing more important than understanding whatever it is you are selling.
Levi was also very helpful because I did another internship with Marian Inc over the summer. Marian Inc is a global manufacturer of precision die cut components, and I worked on their inside sales team during the week. Restaurants are typically open in the evening and weekends, so it enabled me to do 2 internships in one summer. Through both of these internships I was able to learn a lot about multiple different industries, I believe this is very helpful to any Wabash student trying to maximize their summers and gain as much experience as possible.
