Jack Dempsey Farrow
Update: Joined Genji as a Full-time Intern!
I’m pleased to announce that the part-time internship I began with Genji in November has turned into a full-time internship! As of January 2015, I have been working full-time as a Project Management Intern in Genji’s IT and Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO). I will continue on in this capacity until the internship completes on April 30th, 2015.
Genji LLC is a subsidiary of Peace Dining Corporation (PDC). We are a Japanese and Japanese-inspired cuisine restaurant firm, with over 180 locations in the US and UK. Have you been to Whole Foods Market? Seen the sushi kiosks in the Prepared Foods section? That’s us! In addition to the sushi kiosks in Whole Foods and other supermarket locations around the country, we’ve recently launched two new concept stores: Mai Cuisine, an Asian rice-bowl style restaurant, and Hai Street Kitchen, a concept centered around the “Japanese Burrito” (think tasty strips of chicken, pork, or fried shrimp with fresh vegetables, wrapped in a large piece of sushi nori). We’ve opened two Hai Street locations in Philadelphia, with more possibly coming soon.
I’m interning in the corporate offices in downtown Philadelphia. I report directly to the IT/EPMO Director, who is also a Temple alumnus. As Project Management Intern, I support the successful implementation of the many projects we have currently underway. So far, I’ve done the following:
- Created and maintained project documents, including project schedules, risk registers, project charters, stakeholder matrices, and more for projects including business IT system upgrades and new restaurant openings.
- Met with project stakeholders to analyze business processes, and documented those processes as workflows for HR and Warehouse Management Systems upgrades.
- Managed a project to implement a Kanban-based, just-in-time procurement system for office supplies.
- Prepared and presented slide deck presentation of lessons learned to firm Executives and Directors following the closing phase of a new restaurant opening.
It’s been an excellent learning opportunity to intern at Genji. I’m especially thankful for the chance to apply the skills and concepts I learned last semester in Professor Bruce Hohne’s MIS 3535 course. Being able to use what I’ve learned in the classroom every day on the job has greatly enriched my understanding of Project Management in the IT context. This has been a wonderful opportunity for me. I’m excited to see what the remainder will bring!
Accepted an offer for full-time employment from Deloitte!
Big things are happening this semester! I’m happy to announce that I’ve recently received and accepted an offer from Deloitte, an internationally-known “big 4” auditing and consulting firm, for full-time employment following graduation. Beginning in July of 2015, I will join the firm as a Business Technology Analyst (BTA) in the Technology group of the consulting business. I’ll be working out of the Arlington, VA office as part of Deloitte’s Federal practice.
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) is a private, UK-based firm. Its United States operations, Deloitte LLC, employs over 65,000 people who perform a variety of auditing and consulting services. Deloitte’s clients include firms in all industries, both public and private, who look to the firm to find solutions to the business problems they face. These problems range from compliance issues with financial regulations, to business process efficiency, to development and implementation of technology solutions. Deloitte employs some of the best and brightest people in the world. In recent years, the firm has increased its recruiting efforts at the Fox School of Business for both interns and full-time employees. It’s extremely gratifying to know that such a firm recognizes the power of Fox!
I’d like to use this opportunity to publicly thank everyone at Fox who has helped make this application process a successful one for me: all my professors in the MIS department, the entire staff of the Center for Student Professional Development (CSPD), the Academic Advisors, and all my friends and colleagues in AIS, both current students and alumni. Special thanks goes to Gregg Price, a Temple alum and consultant with Deloitte, for coaching and mentoring me over the course of the past year. It’s been a long, difficult journey to get to this point. This offer, and all the new opportunities it brings, makes all the former years of struggle worthwhile. Thank you all!
Interning at Genji, Inc
Beginning in early November, 2014, I have been interning at Genji, Inc, a firm in the food and beverage industry serving Japanese-inspired cuisine at over 180 locations in the US and UK. I first learned about the firm and the position at the IT Career Fair held at Fox in the Fall of 2014. I work in the corporate offices located in downtown Philadelphia as a Project Management Intern. Genji, Inc is a subsidiary of Peace Dining Corporation, with businesses that many Philadelphia residents will recognize, including the Genji sushi and sashimi kiosks located inside Whole Foods Markets in and around the city. Genji has recently opened its first stand-alone restaurant, Hai Street Kitchen Co., on 18th Street between Chestnut and Sansom in downtown Philadelphia.
As the Project Management Intern, I work with and report to the Enterprise Project Management Office’s IT Project Manager. The firm has a number of projects underway including expansion to new locations and the implementation of new, company-wide IT solutions. So far, I have assisted in conducting analyses of business processes and documented these processes in workflow documents, created and maintained project schedules, and other documents related to managing Genji’s ongoing projects like risk registers and communication management plans.
I was, and still am, very pleased to be selected for this position, not least of all because of the direct correspondence to the project management principles I’m currently studying in MIS 3535. My experience as a Project Manager leading my team of Business Analysts from MIS 3504 proved invaluable in landing the position and in performing my duties now that I have the job. My experience in 3535 has allowed me to hit the ground running, with a minimum of onboarding time. As a result of taking this course, I’m already familiar with the terminology, techniques, and software tools used by real-life Project Managers. I believe this knowledge has allowed me to become a real asset to my new company.
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