All Good Things Must Come to an End

I can’t believe my summer stint at Ecolab is finally coming to an end. After spending 9 weeks with a group of incredibly smart and fun colleagues, I am almost tempted to extend my internship by an extra 3 weeks! Ok, I kid. My summer experience has been a phenomenal learning experience, but I am really looking forward to returning to Ann Arbor to see all my friends again! As one of my colleagues joked, it’s back to the academic bubble for the last time!

But before that happens, I have to complete my final deliverable, also known as THE final presentation. My final presentation is scheduled on the Monday of my last week at Ecolab (in 2 days’ time!) and I am feeling pretty confident about it, mainly because various colleagues in my division took the initiative and reviewed my presentation over the past week – it truly speaks volume about the company’s culture, when Directors and Senior VPs volunteer to take time off their busy schedule to offer feedback on the presentation.

Here at Ecolab, there is a tradition of inviting all the people an intern met over the summer (40-50 people in my case) to the final presentation. While it is a great opportunity to showcase my work and share my insights, one of the challenges is that the audience becomes very broad, and the content of the presentation has to cover both breadth and depth – my manager and I definitely spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how to work around this issue.

Well, as I enter into my final week of my summer internship, HR has also lined up a series of “tests” for us. We are required to complete an online aptitude / personality test, as well as spend half a day doing a leadership assessment (which includes role-playing and more online tests!) Ecolab is definitely investing more time and effort into talent acquisition and development, and as the company looks to expand overseas into emerging markets, these initiatives will ensure that Ecolab has the right talent to drive growth in these new markets.

So, one more week left before I head off to sunny San Francisco for my summer vacation. And then it is back to good ole’ Ann Arbor. See all of you in a few weeks’ time!

Go blue!

Social Events in the Twins Cities

Over the past 7 weeks at Ecolab, I have had many opportunities to learn about the inner workings of the organizations. Speaking with various people across all divisions, I understand the work of each division and how it fits into the larger organization. As I explore full-time opportunities within B2B Marketing, these conversations would definitely helped me make a more informed decision and decide if this industry is a good fit for me. And I can gladly say I really enjoy what I see right now.

That said, a summer internship is also about letting your hair down once and in while and simply enjoy the beautiful summer weather! Last weekend, MBAs in the Twin Cities gathered at CRAVE, an amazing rooftop bar in downtown Minneapolis, for the annual MBA Soiree. I was amazed to see such a huge group of MBAs in the Twin Cities. There are quite a number of companies in this region – Ecolab, Cargill, 3M, General Mills, Medtronic and Target, just to name a few – but still, the turnout was larger than I expected.

After spending a few days recovering from the late night, the Ecolab interns were once again out in full force this weekend! We were invited to watch the Minnesota Twins-Detroit Tigers baseball game from the Ecolab suite, which happens to offer the best view in the house. After a week of hard work as we tie up our project, we definitely welcomed this treat! The Twins lost the game but hey, as someone from Michigan, it was nice to see the Detroit Tigers win.

As I move into Week 8 of my project, I will be spending a lot of time reviewing my final presentation with different people in the company. While it’s good to keep the project scope focused, it might be helpful to find out if there are perspectives I failed to think about as I wrap up my project. This is the definitely the final lap, and I am excited to showcase the work I have done over the past few weeks.

Till then!

Life in the Twin Cities

I am at the mid point of my internship at Ecolab. On the work front, I scheduled a couple of mid point check-ins with my manager to ensure that we are all on the same page. The response has been very encouraging and the team is very excited to see the final presentation.

That said, I think the highlight of the week was getting a chance to tour the Twin Cities. HR organized a half-day tour for the interns, and for me, it was a great way to get a sense of the place, and ultimately decide if this is somewhere I can live in and consider a long-term career. We started the tour at Summit Avenue at downtown Saint Paul, a street known for its historical Victorian-style buildings. The architecture of the houses, churches and schools were breathtaking. It is rare to find old buildings that are so well preserved in today’s day and age – it almost felt like I was momentarily transported back in time.

We also drove to a couple of lakes: Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun to name a few. People were out and about, and everywhere you could see Minnesotans jogging around the lakes, kayaking or simply lying out in the sun to enjoy the outdoors. If you are a nature love like I am, Minnesota is definitely a place to consider doing a summer internship. Borrowing the words of our tour guide, despite how brutal winter is, summer is so gorgeous that it compensates for the cold weather. Indeed, there is a reason why Minnesota is known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”.

We ended the tour at Minnehaha Falls, which unfortunately, was the number one attraction in Minnesota until the Mall of America came along. I can’t deny the benefits of tax-free shopping and having an indoor amusement park, but personally, I would prefer the falls any day.

Well, that’s all for now. I am heading out to enjoy some sun, before calling it an early night. Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day. The interns are taking the day off to participate in Habitat for Humanity. Time to roll up our sleeves and get some work done!