Greetings from Minneapolis!

Greetings from Minneapolis!

It has been a week since I started my internship at Ecolab and I am enjoying every minute of it.

Ecolab’s headquarters is located in downtown St. Paul (the older and more historical part of the Twin Cities) but I decided to live in Dinkytown Minneapolis (where you find students from the University of Minnesota, as well as tons of pubs and restaurants). To a certain extent, Dinkytown reminds me of Ann Arbor, so it’s good to have a little piece of “home” with me.

My first week at Ecolab passed by faster than I expected. My manager has been spectacular in ensuring that I could “hit the road running, right off the bat”. Quote, unquote. She arranged a total of 22 meetings for me in the first 4 weeks, making sure that I have the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with senior management. Prior to my internship, I was advised by MBA2s that the summer internship is not just about delivering a good project. It is also about familiarizing yourself with the culture of the company and getting acquainted with individuals from the organization. In fact, one of the senior executives I met advised me that as an intern, I was not expected to understand ALL the details of the business. Rather, I was there to get a holistic picture of how the business is run, and more importantly, to provide a fresh perspective on critical issues.

Apart from executive meetings, HR has also filled the interns’ calendars with multiple social events. We will be spending a full day on a Habitat for Humanity project; going for a Minnesota Twins baseball game; touring the Twin Cities; and visiting the Research and Development facilities of Ecolab, among many others.

My summer is definitely looking very busy, but again, every minute of my first week at Ecolab has been phenomenal and I am excited to find out what the next 9 weeks have in store for me.

Till then!