Over the summer, I had the opportunity to work as the Digital Health Intern at Alcon. Throughout my internship, I worked on the reconstruction of their e-commerce site and writing user stories for their digital product, MARLO, which connects eye care providers with their patients.
My internship significantly helped me grow as an individual, especially regarding the future of my career path and my interests in the field, as well as adopting an open mindset to opportunities I can participate in. Before this summer, I did not know what I wanted to do after college, in which I now have more clarity on career options. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in the corporate environment. Alcon encompasses all aspects of my Health Information Management and Systems (HIMS) major including, healthcare, business, and technology, as we connect with eye care providers about our products and feedback they may have about MARLO. I always assumed I wanted to work in a hospital setting, but this opened many new possibilities for me to explore.
Additionally, I gained confidence in myself both professionally and personally. In the workplace, I networked with individuals across the company by getting outside of my comfort zone and meeting people with greater experience and knowledge. I developed my confidence in my communication skills with team members and other coworkers. My self-assurance increased throughout the summer by living in a new city far from home. I became comfortable with the area and the people I met along the way.
Alcon’s work environment introduced me to the idea of exploring further corporate options in the healthcare field. I had the opportunity to work on innovative projects on the MARLO team. MARLO gives providers the ability to send patients order and reorder options for contacts, exam reminders, and a questionnaire, and offers direct shipping. I learned about the feature development process in the digital space and acted as a product manager, in which I wrote user stories that were passed to designers, engineers, and QA, to then go live in the product. Throughout the summer, I worked on three main user stories, mainly focusing on feature enhancements to improve the user experience. I also worked on Alcon’s e-commerce website, MeetMARLO.com, which is designed for the eye care provider to sign up for MARLO, in which I worked with a third-party vendor to redesign the website. I appreciated being part of such an innovative space that worked to advance the product to its greatest potential. This experience broadened my perspective on the possible jobs I may like in the future.
Furthermore, my confidence in relationships in the workplace and networking increased immensely. I was apprehensive at the start of my internship, as I had never been in this type of environment, and I did not have a great amount of experience with the work I was doing. My colleagues welcomed me onto the team and allowed me the space to discover my role. For example, I took the lead on a feature enhancement by writing the user story and having the design made, followed by presenting the project to a cross-functional collaboration meeting. There were reservations from the engineers regarding previous coding and how this update would have an impact. I then organized and hosted a brainstorming session with the stakeholders to try to find another solution for the enhancement. We were able to discover a way to accomplish the goal while minimizing the workload for all parties. This event displays my confidence and communication skills developing in the workplace. I also built relationships with my mentor, manager, team members, interns, and individuals cross-functionally, which I continue to keep in touch.
I was located in Fort Worth, Texas for my internship and had twelve weeks to immerse myself in the Texas culture. While in Fort Worth, I went to cattle drives, three rodeos, and a Texas Rangers game. I also got involved in the community by joining a church, playing pickleball and volleyball weekly, attending trivia, and going line dancing. Becoming comfortable with the area, I explored downtown Dallas and Fort Worth multiple times throughout the summer. The experience of living in a new city by myself proved that I would be able to do this after I graduate college.
I can transfer the professional skills I have gained from this summer to the classes and clubs I am actively involved in. This semester, I can relate topics I have learned in the real world to lessons in class. I am currently taking a project management class, in which I was able to apply the agile management style to my internship. A large discussion in the HIMS major is Electronic Health Records (EHR). Over the summer, my team held a hack-a-thon workshop where our engineers worked for three days to find a solution on how to integrate EHR with our product. I am also looking into obtaining a Usability and User Experience Certificate offered by the HRS school.
My internship opportunity focused on my career goals and highlighted a sector that I am interested in. As my major has a wide variety of career paths to choose from, it becomes overwhelming when I am not quite sure about one choice. I am excited to continue working with Alcon as a contractor this semester and feel confident that a product manager could be a possible career option. Lastly, I feel more prepared for post-graduation. I have experience in a professional setting and living on my own. I am excited to explore and possibly move to new cities that I know I can smoothly transition into. Overall, my internship experience has allowed me to further my academic, professional, and personal development.
