My STEP Signature Project was a summer internship with Rockwell Automation. I was an Import/Export Compliance Intern in their Global Supply Chain Program. During my internship, I conducted data cleansing for 20,000+ SAP parts in a Multi-COO Project, utilizing Excel VBA. I also fielded 300+ global classification RFIs (HTS, ECCN, COO, FTA) to ensure accurate trade compliance. Lastly, I designed a Power BI dashboard for Lektronix Database achieving full automation with Power Automate.
During my internship, I had the opportunity to work on global teams. This was a new experience that created challenges but allowed me to have a better understanding of other cultural norms. My entire life I have been located in Ohio causing my international experiences of different cultures to be limited. However, during my time with Rockwell Automation, I was able to learn from my team which was located around the world. Now, going forward I am more aware of cultural differences.
One project I worked on was to create a metrics dashboard for a database where products were being classified by our analysts. Two analysts were working on the database, one from Shanghai, and one from Brazil. My first challenge working with them was finding times that work for all of us. Because Shanghai, is across the world, I would have to meet with my coworker very early in the morning. This was definitely a challenge for all my team meetings because everyone is located in different areas of the world.
I also specifically remember one situation where I was explaining how to use a computer keyboard shortcut, completely forgetting that his keyboard was not in English. Often the language barrier would make information sharing more difficult. I am very grateful that I was able to have these experiences.
I hope that in the future I will be able to use these skills that I have learned when interacting with global teams.
This transformation is valuable for my life because the field of supply chain management is very globalized. Knowing how to work with people from around the world is a great skill to have. This will also help me in my personal life. I hope to travel a lot in the future, and now I will be more culturally aware.
