Summer Check-In
Where are you working/interning this summer? Company and Location.
Horizon Brands, Costa Mesa, Calif.
Please describe your day-to-day responsibilities in this position.
On a day-to-day basis, I will be shadowing the senior brand manager sitting in on very high-profile meetings and assisting the product marketing team with anything they need to do. Currently we are in the mist of launching 4 new lighting products, so I am going through the necessary process to get the products to market, on top of that I will be developing my own product idea that I will work on and get to pitch to the company to potentially get it put on the market. Working cross functionally with the teams in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and different departments in the California office.
What made this experience appealing to you?
What made this experience so appealing was firstly this internship was with Mark Lehman who has been a mentor for me for the past year, and this gave me an opportunity to gain professional experience hands on, while getting to learn from other experts gaining valuable insight about the professional world and life in general. Furthermore, my teammate, Shane Mundorf, did this internship last summer and after he had a positive experience, so it was a no brainer for me to do the same.
How does this experience relate to your career or life aspirations? What are you looking to personally get out of it?
In relation to my career, I think this experience will provide me with more detailed understanding about how an established business like Horizon Brands operates, and how in which the marketing team works with other departments in developing and producing products. This will give me a better understanding of the professional careers I am interested in pursuing. I want to become better with my critical thinking, I think that with the courses I have taken at Dickinson and my past professional experience I want to be better at applying what I have learned to my work. This internship will give me a platform to apply myself and challenge myself to learn more and get more insight from different experts in their respected fields.
How has your athletics career prepared you for this role?
My athletic career has prepared me a lot for this role. Marketing teams work cross-functionally within the company, collaborating with different departments, and I have experience working in teams through my soccer career with people from all different backgrounds. I have a strong understanding of what it takes to build a successful team and how to be a good teammate, which I can apply directly to the workplace. I’ve also gone through challenges and adversity in my athletic career, and I know that internships can be tough at first while adjusting to the flow of things. The obstacles I’ve faced have helped prepare me for potential setbacks in the workplace and taught me how to deal with them.
What are you looking forward to for this upcoming year for your sport?
I am looking forward to competing again, I love playing soccer and competing with my teammates. We have an exciting team, and a lot of potential as a program and I want to keep building on what we have done so far and push this team to our goals. I am also looking forward to getting back to a refurbished Millier Memorial field, with new practice fields and new game jerseys. We really appreciate the Hare Family for their unbelievable generosity, this has helped Dickinson Sports tremendously.
Is there anything else you are looking forward to this summer outside of this experience?
I am looking forward to exploring California, I have never been to the west coast so I am excited to see it and live this lifestyle in the West.
