8 weeks into internship

As my internship continues, I have started implementation of my initiatives – this past couple of weeks have been quite insightful into how to run effective meetings, get consensus, close feedback loops and tie loose ends. As I continue implementation of my initiatives my final presentation date too has been scheduled and it is in a couple of weeks – this is my moment to shine and get visibility to the senior leaders within my group. I feel great and at the same time, there is a huge adrenaline rush as I begin preparing for the final presentation, creating slides, doing dry-runs. My team mates have been quite supportive and I cannot believe that in less than 4 weeks, my internship would have ended!

On a separate note, the intern group is having a lot of fun – we have been doing several activities, both fun and educational but most importantly, a great way to get immersed in the company’s culture.  Yesterday, we organized a mini-Ross Googler lunch and it was great meeting some Ross alumni who are now working at Google – get to learn about their experiences and get tips on how to do really well in the internship.

On the personal front, evenings have been great – meeting up with friends, going to movies, planning trips – it has just been fantastic! Ross interns in the bay area also have been getting together quite often through events organized at people’s homes – a couple of weeks back we had a potluck at a friend’s place and it was great reconnecting with fellow Rossers who are working in different companies and connecting with interns from other schools. Thanks to all the folks who have hosted events at their places.

As my internship comes to an end, I feel happy to have created impact thus far and I am looking forward to starting school in September.

Running along!

Since my last post, I have made a lot of progress in my project - I had a chance to interview almost 20 people to gather information about my project...but first, let me start from the beginning.

I enjoyed my first (almost) four weeks - with Google I/O happening, to going out with my team for a fun bowling event, lots of things have transpired over the last few weeks.

Google I/O was clearly the highlight for me - what with sky-divers jumping in with their Google glasses revealing the new Jelly Bean Anrdoid OS, these have been exciting times for us.

On to more serious topics - I defined a clear work-plan for my project after multiple conversations with my team. This helped me establish a good pace and clear targets to achieve every week. I worked off that plan and I am making good progress with my project. I have my usual weekly one on one meetings with my manager and more frequent meetings with the person in my team who is guiding me on day-to-day activities. My manager and the team have been really helpful in giving me the autonomy at the same time providing inputs when I ask for them. In addition, access to people is tremendous. Meeting other interns and exchanging notes with them makes me believe that this situation is not unique to me - all interns have tremendous access and have been receiving great help from their teams.


At this stage, I feel comfortable to start thinking about the solutions for the business challenge that I had been given. Navigating in Google means talking to a lot of people, collaborating and coming up with a solution that is actionable. 


On a more personal front, buying furniture, going out, meeting my friends in the bay area have all been a lot of fun. The weather in the bay area needs no mention - it is fabulous all year round!


More on my next post.