I really had three expectations going into Boeing.
I had communicated these three expectations to my recruiting focal and managers at my matching event very clearly. Finally, I got matched to the IT Asset Management and Order Fulfillment team.
Keeping that in mind, I moved forward into my very own project.
Although I can't say the specifics, I did take complete ownership of my project - the Master MSR Form. This cloud-based application handled internal asset requests within Boeing. I set up informational interviews, finished all Boeing trainings, and learned to use SharePoint Designer and InfoPath Designer in just two weeks. I finished my first iteration of the Master MSR Form by the end of the third week of the internship. After that, it was continuously iterating through testing and debugging from user feedback using Value Stream Mapping techniques. I was able to present a demo of the product by the middle of the internship, pitch to the team that would take this project on, and see the results happen. The team ended up using the Master MSR Form. From our efficiency projections, we estimated that using the Master MSR form increased efficiency (in terms of time) by 12%.
Because of my involvement in the nonprofit, the Global Leadership Organization (GLO), I went on a trip to Taiwan in the middle of my internship to coach high school students in leadership management. Once I came back, my manager asked me to do a report-out on my experiences as a GLO Counselor in Taiwan. I gave my presentation, and the staff team loved it. They loved it so much that they asked me to presented in three separate meeting rooms for smaller groups. Then, my manager asked me to present at the All-Hands Managers Meeting. Instead, the event got changed so that I would present for the entire IT department in the building. I was ecstatic.
Since I finished my project a little early, I had time to take on another one. I became a Project Management intern part of the IT Innovation team. I coordinated virtual meetings with the third place Hack the Factory hackathon team to help them move forward to meet project deadlines, to create a Lean Canvas, and to pool in resources to help in the execution process.
I had a ton of fun at my internship at Boeing, but I also had a ton of meetings. Just for fun, I put together a graph of how many meetings I had per week.
That's a lot of meetings scheduled on my Outlook Calendar! Aside from that, I had a summer full of memorable experiences. Let's take a walk down memory lane.
During the first week that I arrived, the team set up a luncheon and Jim-n-Nick's BBQ to welcome my arrival. It was such a great start to the internship!
A weekend later, I drove up to North Carolina to visit my friend Howard, who is a current medical student at Duke University. I met up Roger, my significant other, and we all went out with Howard's friends to Charlotte. We spent time going to the National White Waters Park, playing Exit Strategy, and having a hearty pancake meal.
A couple of weeks later, I flew to Taiwan to coach high school students in leadership management for non-profits and other passion-driven leadership. I also got to visit my extended family and ate great food!
Later on in the internship, Boeing allowed interns to go on the DreamLifter and to finally take pictures! We're usually not allowed to take photos on the Boeing campus unless we have a photo permit, which is off-limits for interns. I was so excited to be able to share what I saw that day.
The HR team that managed the intern community put on a lot of baseball events. I don't particularly enjoy baseball events, so I didn't attend those. However, there was a social at the Basico, which seemed like a clubhouse with games, a pool, and good food. That was the night I got to meet a lot of other interns I don't normally meet. It also started an entire series of dinners and downtown hangouts that lasted until the end of my internship.
Because a coworker wanted to build the IT community to become more close-knit, he set up a payday social at the Southside 17 bar nearby. It was great to see IT members from all ages (21+) come together.
Yes, this was one of those downtown hangouts I was talking about!
At the end of July, I flew to Yale to celebrate my 2-year anniversary with Roger. I was delighted to see my GLO advisor, Michael, there! We all hung out together and had sushi and desserts. Roger was a sweetie and took to me a fancy dinner and bought a fancy dress for me! It was a relaxing weekend indeed.
Throughout the internship, my mentor, LaDonna, and I kept talking about how much we love noodles. We just had to find some ramen or pho. We found a nearby pho places and many of the team members took a lunch break together to get pho noodle soup! It was a first time experience for many people.
This was another downtown hangout!
And another one...
Natalie, one of the greatest coworkers anyone can have, hosted a pizza-making session at her beautiful home! It was such a lovely, chill event with the yummiest homemade pizza I've ever had.
Rachel, LaDonna, and I swore we'd go have some noodles again. We found this restaurant on Yelp that had really great ratings, but I'm just going to be honest, the restaurant did not meet my expectations. Next time though!
During my last weekend in Charleston, Natalie and Anjelica decided to take me out to experience Charleston's downtown night life. I didn't think there would be much going on, but downtown Charleston is amazing! I loved the vibe. It felt very safe, fun, and exciting! I'm not much of a bar person, but I had a fantastic time with Natalie and Anjelica. :)
So at the end of the internship, I reflected upon my 3 months of work, fun, and new life experiences. Did my time meet my expectations? Well, I'd say yes!
I had a great team that cared about me and my future! There were so many times that my team members set up one-on-ones with me to ask me how my summer was going, whether they can help in any way, and what I think I want to do in the future.
There was no doubt that I had complete ownership in my project. It was my summer baby. I'm so thankful to have gone through an entire project cycle in its entirety. It felt very fulfilling.
My manager constantly introduced me to Leadership at Boeing. Because of those introductions, I was able to set up one-on-ones to ask for career advice and technical informational interviews to further my abilities in certain software platforms.
In the end, my summer internship had been an amazing experience that hit all three of my expectations!
Through these life experiences, there were three lessons I learned.
As for this last lesson, I thought it would be appropriate to make it more self-reflective. I asked other interns what their biggest take-away was for the summer, and the above was what they responded. I thought it was so great.
In the end, I realized that I put forth my 110% in everything I did this summer. The lesson above was actually from an anime I was watching, but I felt it was so relevant to how I approached my summer.
Thank you for the great summer, Boeing!
