Laurel Miller

One of the most important skills that I discovered during my internship was knowing how to use excel. I’ve taken the excel class offered by Temple University but I never actually applied them to work. At Independence Blue Cross, Business Technology Services Department- I realized that excel is used often to store data and analyze it. There were people that I’ve met that do not use excel efficiently. Instead of using formulas, they are manually tying in data. I realized I could help them be more efficient and this helped me get noticed by the head of the department. Since excel is a big part of the BTS department – I got to know someone on the Data Tools team which helped me because I was able to ask him questions about excel and he even taught me some formulas.

There are many skills that are absolutely necessary at my job to do anything. For example, someone in my position must be able to hold large amounts of math in their head, while paying attention to what other people are saying. It is important to keep up with the math being described by other as they say it. This is a difficult task that one must get used to. Another skill is the ability to invent formulas using by understanding how the numbers are intended or should move around. Such as, figuring out how to get the cost per lines received for a certain department between certain dates. It is important to remember the order that the database reads data because you could be receiving the wrong info if you write code in the wrong order. Overall, being able to do statistics, calculus and see a clear picture of how the database should look, in your head is the most important skill for the job.

The most important skills that I have discovered in my internship are communication and excel skills. When I first came into my internship, I did not realize that excel was so important, but excel was needed for a lot of the everyday tasks at the company. Also, the most important people that I have discovered during my internship were my career coaches. Career coaches at the company are people assigned to you that are suppose to tell you what you are doing well at in the company and what you need to improve on. Career coaches are also the people that I discovered that I need on my side because they are the ones that will take your side on if you should get a full time offer with the company or not.

Personally, refining my soft skills and business acumen skills were crucial for success and personal development. There are many times discussions pop up unexpectedly (water cooler) where you’ll need to be sharp with a response; understanding the business’s internal terminology and how decisions impact each department allows you to align your key priorities (Xs) with the business objectives and outcomes (Ys). The technical skills I’ve leverage are primarily problem-solving skills for troubleshooting, there’s always going to be someone struggling with technology, having the ability to provide value by logically and methodically working through software/hardware issues is a huge benefit. Especially when it involves colleagues you routinely work with in team settings, or a senior people leader that urgently needs support that is unavailable.

A decent knowledge of how networks function in an enterprise setting has been a huge part of my internship and knowing how they facilitate the communication of people, applications, and processes across the organization has been crucial. This is also something I’ve had to learn about specifically for this job because I don’t have an extensive background in networking. I’ve noticed that it’s important to have our project manager on my side, at least enough so that they’re willing to hear me out when I voice my concerns or ideas about a specific topic. Having their ear has been really helpful with getting quick feedback on ideas that I might have.

One of the most important skills that I have learned during the internship is to report efficiently to Excel. Although I had taken the Excel class at Temple, I did not have experience using Excel for efficient reporting in the real world. Working with Fox Run Brands, I have to report thousands of products on Amazon to Excel to keep track of the growth weekly. That was hectic and confusing at the first time. However, I got used to it and my Excel skills improved a lot.

The most important skill that I learned throughout my internship is documentation and presentation. When I first started my internship one of my team members was retiring from his position and he wanted me to learn as much as I could throughout his last couple months. As an Analyst documentation is very important, and I was taught how to write a business requirement document, status meeting documents, tests case documents, timelines, etc. His role also consisted of facilitating meeting between business executives and IT directors to rank IT projects and discuss their future. I picked up very useful presentation skills and I even had to chance to facilitate one of these meetings. I mastered a lot of these skills and the person I have to thank for it is my co-worker which recently retired from the company.

Coding with Stata is one of the most important skills that I have gained from my internship so far. This tool has given me a lot more control while editing large, inconsistently formatted Excel files. This is a skill that will help me not only in this particular internship but will also be very helpful for any quantitative analysis tasks in the future. One of the most important person I have discovered in my internship is the Research Analyst who is leading the project I am working on. His patience and friendliness has helped me a lot to adapt to the company’s culture and standards. One skill that I did not initially have but needed the most was to explain my code while actually writing the code. It is very important to explain what a particular code does so that another coder can clearly understand my code and work on it. Other people who I definitely want on my side are the other interns who are working on the same project as I am. Collaborating with them can help me find many ways through critical problems that I face while fulfilling my assignments.

The most important skill during my internship was to be able to integrate knowledge. Whether it was previous knowledge learned from school or new information that I learned during the various projects and clients, I had to learn how to see how all the pieces fit. To become a successful security consultant, you need to have a good basis of basic knowledge of networks, vulnerabilities, exploits, and operating systems Additionally, I was learning all new tools and methods to perform Vendor Assessments, Cloud Security Risk Assessments, and Penetration Tests. A person that I would want to have on my side is a mentor who has walked a similar path. My peer advisor for the internship was that person which helped me greatly to learn this skill.

There are many important business and technical skills in the workplace. While I find it imperative to have technological, organizational, and other business skills, I feel that without having great communication as a foundation, it can be difficult for work to be done in some situations. For example, 75% of my team at AmerisourceBergen works in Frisco Texas, requiring the team to communicate via email, skype, and the phone, rather than having the luxury of communicating in person. Knowing what your communication vehicle is, what you are communicating, and how you will communicate that is extremely important to consider at work. For example, a badly written email about a project can lead to stirring up confusion about the project and can delay work being done. Sometimes, it is good to get a peer review from a coworker before sending communications at work– if your message doesn’t make sense to them, it could be a weak form of communication.

When working at my previous internships, I learned a skill that has changed how I am in both the workplace and in school. The most important skill I saw throughout many of my managers was the ability to plan. Planning can be used in both a business ad technical term, as to what it may apply. They all seemed to follow a common thread, create short term goals to make sure their work is on track, but to also keep them or the team motivated. I often saw these managers taking up whatever work was given to them, because they could plan it out accordingly and multitask with other tasks. Learning from this, I often use it in school now when I have a paper due or a test to study for, take it in small increments and you will excel.

Working at SAP has gave me a good exposure to not just technical side of my role but also business side. There are many tasks that I am in charge of that require people skills and good communication skills. One of the big challenges is getting information for my role from higher ups. I work with a lot of documents at the same time and I realized that it is very critical to draft and version all the drafts with date and alterations. My Manager is my go-to person that helps me organize the data drafts and charts that I make. Because my role is very agile oriented my manager gave me a few tips to make the drafts more accessible.

Working at Union League makes me realizes Communication skills and business skills are really important for the internship. Being a good communicator allows us to solve the problems more efficiently, articulate the idea in an approach that are relatable to the stakeholders. In other words, by having a great communicating skills we can streamline the communication and decrease the frequency of misunderstanding. Having sufficient business skills can really put us in a different position, with the business skills it allows us to understand whether a project has a business value to the company or not.

While interning at Tonic the most important skill I needed was communication skills. I was expecting to use my leadership skills more than communication skills however I had to use my communication skills to know how I should communicate with coworkers based on whether they liked to be directly approached or if I should just slack them. Also, I used writing skills when communicating with clients via email. The one person who I always wanted on my side was Leon, who was the head of operations; he was always able to convince people to go his way whenever there was an important decision to be made.

Good Graphic: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/vancouver2010/medals/map.html

Bad Graphic: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/05/22/us/20080522_SMOKING.html

Anthony Haines
Antonio Romero
Andrew Junod

The most important take away for me was when Maurice mistakenly created a job for him just by knowing data and how it can be used. Data can help businesses in their everyday operation for example, the real time analysis that QVC uses on their live televise show help them sell products better. some terms i learned about in class such as: meta-data, data science, and turning data into information were some of the terms in Maurice presentation.

The most important takeaway from Maurice Whetstone’s talk was to be passionate about what’s you’re doing. He loves his job so he can be energetic when working. Data by itself may not be useful, but if you analyze data and are able to get information out of it, you can make decisions based on your analysis.

The most important takeaway that I got from Maurice Whetstone’s talk on Wednesday was when he talked about real-time analytics that his team has to use when monitoring the live broadcasts and with that also their website, reviews, phone lines, and all the other current data that could be streaming in at any moment. I learned that these aren’t decisions just based on psychology or a marketing team that decides the best way to increase sales, but the data that is gathered through the actual customers and their purchasing habits. This illustrates how QVC can use not just their data on things such as sales but the metadata of that to track reviews, purchasing patterns, and how to improve upon their selling strategies, products and platforms.

The most important thing I took away from Maurice Whetstone’s talk was that I’m the CEO of me. It was a good reminder that I’m responsible for my personal brand and that I’m the only one capable of holding myself accountable. As far as data, I learned you can look at sales to catch any mistakes and even figure out new products you can start selling based off of what you’re customers are already buying.

Maurice Whetstone’s talk last Wednesday taught me a lesson on how to be accomplished in the real world and that is to always look for a way to not only help yourself, but help your peers. One thing I learned about data and decision making is that happens in seconds, and in those few seconds you can really make an impact on the success of your company or product. For example, Maurice told us the story on how sales of a certain product increased when they used the word “great value” which in my opinion is extremely fascinating that a tiny detail like that go so far.

I liked Mr. Whetstone’s presentation quite a bit. He was a fun guy, and seemed to not take himself too seriously. My most important take away was that there are a ton of jobs in MIS. I also learned that companies rely on consumer data to make a large number of their decisions.

The most important thing I took from Maurice was to treat people how you would want to be treated. Never let anyone walk on top of you and/or your accomplishments. Also, I learned that data is used in many ways to make decisions. There is data to back up almost everything and to get the best results for something, its crucial that there is data to show for improvement.

Maurice gave a very enthusiastic and interesting talk, which allowed each student to understand how he uses data being the Director of Enterprise Data Management at QVC. I think one of the most important parts of Maurice’s talk was when he stated that, “data is at the heart of everything we do.” Maurice emphasized this line a lot in order to give us a true idea as to how much data people actually consume on a day to day basis. I learned that data is used to make almost all of your decisions. I also really enjoyed the stories and the life advice that Maurice shared with us during his presentation.

There were many key takeaways from Maurice’s speech on Wednesday. I believe the one I walked away with which was most impactful is how exploring various data sets can lead to discovering relationships, and ultimately creating more business opportunities. These hidden connections can relate to course material as we have discussed the importance of big data and how vast it can be. This is evident in the burrito article, where there were thousands of different types of burrito options, but using appropriate scaling allowed the author to tailor the data to meaningful geographical representations.

Additionally, Maurice’s life advice at the end was a nice touch and did resonate with me after the class concluded.

First and foremost, I would like to thank Mr. Whetstone for taking time to come in and talk to our class. I really enjoyed the presentation, especially his way of giving examples of data through his experiences in the industry. The thing that I thought to be most important from the presentation was the importance of meta-data and utilization of data in real time. As we discussed in class, meta-data is very important because it helps the reader/viewer of the data to understand the meaning of the data/data set.

I think the most important takeaway from Maurice Wehtstone’s talk was the need for fast and accurate data. He mentioned how data is getting so big and complex and there is a huge need to keep up with the info we are being blasted with. I understand the importance of data analytics and the fact that clearly and TRUE data is essential. If I was not a senior MIS or computer science would be a career field that intrigued me. One thing that that relates to class is the 3 v’s of Data we learned of data. Data needs Velocity Variety and Value.

An important takeaway from Maurice Whetstone’s talk for me was to always ask questions and always put my best foot forward and present myself however i would present a company that i was the CEO of. One thing i learned about data that i thought was very cool was when he was explaining how they analysed live data and would tell the TV show host to use a certain word more than others.

One of the most important takeaways from Mr. Whetstone’s talk was the life lessons and advice he was giving. He gave some good advice that I can keep in the back of my mind and remember going forward. Also, I learned that data is important in almost everything and essential in making decisions. Finding and using data to boost sales on certain products or to find problems within the business are two key ways in which data is important. Mr. Whetstone also talked about the metadata being important as well, just like we did in class. Data is a big factor to consider when in retail and in most other fields.

The most important thing that I learned form Maurice Whetstone’s talk was when he talked about his team’s motto, “Data Is At The Heart Of What We Do”. We talk about in class how data is everywhere, but Maurice posed the question “name one area of your life where you do not use data”. This really struck a chord with me because it is one thing to say that data is everywhere, but you can really see the magnitude when you try and think of an area where it is not used. Because data is in all areas of life, data inherently influences every decision, which Maurice touched on when talking about his discoveries of going through data for fun.

The most important takeaway is that data is just data but if you have a way of interpreting it, it can make or break a business. When Maurice told the story about the live monitoring it made me feel like every company should implement that. If I am ever online shopping and my feedback gets answered immediately, it will make me happy, and I will most likely make a purchase and future purchases. It also showed me how time consuming and expensive maintaining and examining data can be. When talking about the cloud, one question I have is why only put partial data on the cloud and not keep everything? Since it is so much more affordable.

One of the most important takeaways from the talk was that data are only numbers until a team, humans, can properly analyze them. Metadata is very important to achieve this goal because it allows everyone to understand what they are looking at and so that the team can coordinate and communicate with one another effectively. It was surprising to me how much storage QVC needs to house its data and I cannot see a way to manage that data without a system of identification of the data and comments on how it is organized.

The most important take away from the lecture was when Maurice said “you are representing You Inc.” that really resonated with me. I found it really interesting how they use live data when they are on air. They take the data and use keywords in order to promote the products to consumers. – Jesse Wireman

This past Wednesday, we had a guest speaker during class to speak to us. I, very much, enjoyed his presence. In the presentation, most memorable takeaway that he spoke on was the life lesson. He said that no matter who they are, you can’t allow them to teach you disrespectfully because you get treated how you let them treat you. The speaker also talked a lot about data and I learned that industries get data instantly and get alter our live television shows. For example, in class we learned about metadata (general data about other datas) and Maurice Whetstone talked about how he uses that to find fault or even new innovations during the live TV.

In this lecture, I know about what is QVC and what does it do. He also talks about the knowledge of using data. Moreover, his experiences at work bring me a different view of this industry.

The office where I interned had a system called “hoteling” for desk seating. Every week, employees picked an open desk to reserve. Since my group was fairly small, we did not have a designated area in which we all sat together. One of the most important things I had to figure out on my own was the “politics” and culture involved in this process. I got the feeling that I had “stolen” someones typical seat during my first week. It was also a bit difficult to actually physically find the desks I had reserved. Also, figuring out which seats were typically taken by higher level associates, but not necessarily designated as such, was challenging. This was a challenge I had not anticipated!

Dress Code:

It was not until my third week of work, when I realized that there was not a “dress code” to follow. At first, I would always dress business professional, which made me feel a little bit uncomfortable because I felt like I was not fitting in the company. But then I noticed that employees are allowed to wear however they feel the most comfortable. Ever since I started my internship, I have seen employees wearing from business causal to Eagle’s sweater. This may have not been a big challenge, but understanding your company’s culture is crucial.

During the first week of my internship, my manager was doing a training in the AmerisourceBergen offices in Frisco, Texas. He had written me a set of guidelines and tasks to have ready for his return in the next week, but I was pretty much on my own. I took it upon myself to get to know one of my team members who has been with the company for a while, and she definitely helped me with getting used to routine activities and showing me around the office. Furthermore, I needed to find the other members of my team and introduce myself to them, which was a bit confusing at first because many of my team members work in the Texas offices, which I was not fully aware of on my first day. By the end of the third day that week I had gotten the hang of things and was prepared for when my boss returned.

A large struggle that I had to deal with throughout the entirety of my internship was the “learning curve” associated with audit (specifically IT audit) testwork. At the start of my internship, I was given a mentor, but the issue was that she was located in the Portsmouth, NH office. This created an environment in which I felt weird asking questions because I did not physically meet my mentor for a couple of weeks. Additionally, I had to ask for additional training because my managers did not understand that the interns did not know how to complete audit testwork. I reached out to ask for examples of past work, and I always asked questions when I had them, but it was difficult because my team was spread across 3 different states and 2 time zones. The culture of communication (almost solely through Skype for Business) was a difficult adjustment as well, and the “learning curve” was difficult.

During my internship at Independence Blue Cross I notice that the company was very diverse. This was the first company that I’ve been at where there are all different generations and difference races/cultures. I wanted to know how all these different types of people get along and what happens when there is a conflict of opinion. I went out on my own and signed up for a Diversity & Inclusion class they had Independence. It was very informative and I learn a lot about the company and how everyone works together.

My first week at Fox Run Brands was full of new things. Our company has two location: one in Ivyland, PA and one in Philadelphia. The one in Philadelphia is just for our marketing and SEO team. Therefore, they rent a small office inside a big building. My first day at the company, I thought the whole building was the company. I was kind of awkward when I asked my supervisor what department was next to our office. There were so many other new things like I got lost in the building the fist time, or how to dress correctly. I remember my first at work, I was the only one wearing formally.

Hello All,
Turn 5’s company culture is all about meritocracy and technology (so technocratic). Essentially, you’re expected to learn everything on your own and ask for help if you really, really need it. Otherwise, you should have googled at least ten times before asking someone. People at the company get moved up based on the quality and quantity of ideas, rather than age, or other entitlements. This is a part of the culture that I adore because I’ve always wanted to be treated with respect to my actual output, rather than input. (As someone who tends to find the most efficient way to do things).

Also, I wore a suit to the first interview, now I can wear sweatpants if I want, because tech companies operate on the internet and nobody sees what we wear. These little bits of modernity are what make my company and other tech companies suitable for someone like me.

The corporate environment was a big change compared to a small organization. The first thing that was apparent was the hierarchy, looking through the company directory I realized how big GE was simple based on how many levels of management were between my manager and the CEO. What once took a single managers approval now will go through a chain of approvals. This will sometimes cripple an idea that needs to be implemented fast. The culture is also different, micro managing employees is counterproductive, our people leaders promote empowerment that encourages professional development. I’ve had the opportunity to sit in on some high-level meetings that helped me further my business acumen skills, relative to GE’s way of thinking.

In my internship, the company had a system set up for how to reserve desks. On my first day with the company, I did not know how to use the system. When I finally did learn how to reserve a desk, I ended up reserving a desk that was meant for people of a different department in the company. So coming in, I not only had to learn how to reserve a desk, which was easy for everybody else, but I also had to learn which desks were available for people of my department. I did not expect to run into this challenge coming in.

At my internship my department largely interacts with other departments and groups in a flat hierarchical way which was a little disorienting for me. It’s weird having to figure out how to switch from talking to someone who is in what is considered an entry level position to talking to the VP of the department, or someone else who is really high up. Even though this was initially tough, I think it does good things across the organization and encourages dialog across all levels.

During my internship, one of the things that I had to figure out on my own is the environment in the Lab. I enjoyed doing my work there and learning more different technologies. The most difficult part was that everyone has a very advanced understanding of penetration testing and the people that were there. Most were IST majors in college which put me at a disadvantage. While everyone was very helpful when I asked, most of the timed they were really busy so it was hard to ask a question. I had to learn a lot of technologies on my own to become a better resource.

During my internship, one of the things I had to figure out on my own was the dress code and when the appropriate time was for lunch. My first week at my internship I would dress in business casual and try to present myself more formally. After a few weeks, I realized that the dress code was just casual and people were allowed to wear what they wanted to. Also, during the first few weeks of my internship I had to learn to keep a portion of the middle of the day free so that I could take lunch, if not then I would have had to wait until late afternoon in order to eat.

Having yet started my internship for this semester, I will talk about my previous internship. The biggest struggles I had to overcome was that my boss, for a major duration of my internship, was place in France for the summer. One of the hardest things, for me, to do was ask other people on my team questions that took up their time and were not my boss. Thankfully, my team understood my situation and was more than willing to help me out and often came over to see how I was doing. Better yet, almost all the interns in our office sat in the same area, we always had employees coming over and introducing themselves to us and wanting to get to know more about us. This showed me that their culture wasn’t about “me” but it was about an entire team and that we all are successful when we work together.

One of the few things that I faced difficulty at first was understanding the company lingo. Use of acronyms and company lingo is a big part of SAP’s culture. The company’s name itself is an Acronym. The company’s lingo is called “SAPanese” by its employese and it is very critical to know in order to communicate well. SAP has a very helpful web resource that I found which helped me get exposure to SAPanese. Exploring the web resources and simply asking my colleagues helped me learn the company’s lingo.

There was definitely a period of acclimation. Initially, I was confused at the layout of the desks, and I had to use ‘landmarks’ to find my way to and from my desk. Along with understanding the layout, the acronyms was something that took time. Luckily, the company intranet provided wonderful resources to get up too speed for everything Cigna related. Since the team I was on was located throughout the nation, I set up time with each of the managers for a phone call so we could get to know each other and I could hear their pains and problems with the current system at hand.

At the internship, there’s certainly some acclimation. Especially the acronym each department use and the location of each department.
During the first week of my internship, i was struggling to make a conclusion on the assignment i was working on because i do not fully comprehend the codes each department is using for their convenient purposes. I have to ask my manager and call different department to record all of the codes that are listed on the system. While being assigned to talk to the marketing department, i awkwardly asked my manager how to get to the office. Other than that, am still in the process to get involved in the company’s culture.