1. Over the summer, I was the CIG – Food Science Intern at Grande Cheese Company in Wisconsin. Throughout the internship, I worked with the entirety of the Custom Ingredients Group Department in varying capacities to complete my project. This also included the creation of several trials and data collections with different pieces of equipment to achieve the desired product.
2. A handful of growth and development events occurred throughout the completion of my Signature Project. The main one was in understanding myself. I further understand the type of work atmosphere that I enjoy being a part of and which components speak the most to me. This also included a better understanding of what makes me motivated while working on projects. Other things I began to better understand about myself were how much stress truly impacted me and how much structure I like to have for tasks.
The change and understanding of myself primarily stemmed from the various interactions I was able to have with the employees. I gained connections not only with the other interns and individuals within my department, but also those outside of my department who may not have a direct impact on my position. Additionally, I developed a better understanding through my assigned project as guidance was given when asked rather than me being handed a plan.
3. Beginning with the work atmosphere, from the first day I was welcomed with open arms. I was able to ask any question, and all were willing to help find an answer or give me directive of how to find it. The company I was with is a medium-sized company which enables the associates to get to know each other well. They made me feel like I was part of their family even though my time with them was only temporary. I was shown the business side of the department but also got to see how they all have fun with each other as well even if it’s little jokes throughout the workday or celebrating progress no matter how small on projects. As one of the few out of state individuals that were part of the intern program, all associates made it feel as if I had been with the company for a while. They made it feel like this was my home too. My birthday occurs over the summer and my team even brought in goodies to share with the department to help celebrate my birthday.
All of this spoke to me on a deeper level and made me realize how much I enjoyed having that sense of home in a work atmosphere. I have worked places where people enjoy what they do and get along but nothing has quite felt as homey and caring as these individuals were. The company even encourages networking between all associates by having an open networking hour once a month with some refreshments. This event alone exposed me to so many different people that I wouldn’t normally interact with but they all help the business function to its fullest potential. Departments are also encouraged to do a quarterly outing of some sort just to further encourage bonding between associates. The Applications Team and I went out to lunch together but we also had days where the more of the CIG members did things together such as marketing video shoots or attending the annual IFT tradeshow in Chicago.
As for productivity and project motivation, I have always known I enjoy numbers and having an explanation for how things work or why something works in a certain manner. My Signature Project further solidified this knowledge while providing some clarification in terms of what kind of data driven person I am. There are those who are data driven because they are after a certain result and simply want to achieve said end result. They get satisfaction from the final product rather than from progress achieved during the process. I, however, have realized that while it may not be something big, I do enjoy seeing progress. A step in the right direction was always welcomed especially when I had only one main project for the course of the summer.
Additionally, I found motivation in making the process decisions. I learned how to cross-functionally collaborate with our marketing team to determine if my project goal would even be welcomed in the food market. Once a final goal was determined for what market section was being aimed for, there was very little frame work for how to achieve said goal. Beyond doing the initial product research there was minimal existing work done by the company in this region. Guidance was given by both my mentor and manager throughout the experience as I asked or brought up areas of concern. Beyond this guidance, I designed all the trials that were conducted and determined appropriate ingredient ratios through various experiments and some existing knowledge. At the conclusion of my experience, I had the opportunity to share all that I had been working on in depth with the team so they are able to continue what I started.
4. These developments are valuable to my life because they helped me understand what it feels like to be truly valued and appreciated by a company. I know more about what I want from a work atmosphere as I transition into the industry. These changes have also helped me to further understand how I work best in the real world where structure isn’t always provided unless asked for. My potential positions would never be strictly a desk job. There will always be some sort of hands-on work from either doing lab trials or being in a production facility. All of which are unpredictable so a set weekly schedule isn’t something that is necessarily achievable due to the ongoing project(s).
