Editor’s Note:  This post was originally published on the Interns Expose Amway blog.

I really didn’t know what to expect when I came to Amway six weeks ago, but I have definitely been on a winding yellow brick road of new experiences.  I am an advertising and design student who usually takes classes in marketing, branding, information graphics and creative media.  When the summer swept me off my feet, however, I was blown into the far away land of Information Technology.

In this strange new land they spoke a different language and had a different way of doing things, and I have to admit, I was completely out of my element at first.  With tons of confusing acronyms being thrown around and terms I had never even heard of showing up in my emails, I really thought I was in over my head.  As I powered through the new material and decided I would learn as much as possible about IT, this scary misadventure quickly became an exciting journey.

So far this summer, I have learned so much about new things I would have never imagined I’d be working with.  I had never done anything with IT in the past, but now that I have it has opened my eyes to a whole new field and a whole new way of applying the skills I have learned while earning my degrees.  I have met some great people along the way who have helped me discover that I have the courage to delve into foreign topics, that I do have a more technical side to my brain and most importantly, that I have a huge appreciation and a place in my heart for IT.

Editor’s Note:  This post was originally published on the Interns Expose Amway blog.

The beginning of the summer has represented an opportunity to pursue my dreams and it is the clearest example that I have succeeded in completing one of the goals that I set for myself when I arrived in Business School.

Two years ago when I applied to Kellogg School of Management, I described in my essays (and in my Business Week blog) how I wanted to become a brand manager at a cosmetics company to create holistic well-being in direct sales to use my talents in favor of improving the world.

The way I arrived at Amway was somehow unusual. As part of my plan B recruiting I continued to look at beauty companies, but searched for operations jobs to at least secure a change in geography and industry. A change of industry, function and geography seemed like a very complex challenge, because most companies would not trust a Chemical Engineer with 5 years of work experience in operations to become a world class marketer.

After a wonderful experience in Ada and an interview that seemed like a friendly talk with the Vice President, Director and Manager of Supply Chain, I received an offer from the center of excellence that I was uncertain to take. I had really liked the company, but I was uncertain of how taking that path brought me closer to my long term career goal: to become a General Manager who can eventually have more impact in the world.

Not willing to give up, I decided to seek advice from MBA’s who were in my dream job in the industry to see if an eventual transition would be possible or if I should stick to my plan to career change during the summer, even if it was in a startup company or scarifying the geography. That determination caused for me to cold call my current manager, an MBA from Duke University to ask her for advice. That advice request converted into an internship opportunity of what I, now call: my dream job.

Two weeks ago, I moved from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan where Amway’s head quarters are located to become a brand manager MBA intern in the color cosmetics business.

My summer project involves working in a very interesting challenge that requires implementing strategic and tactical measures. Using creative, leadership, strategic thinking and analytical skills mixed with marketing, finance, accounting, design, and operations knowledge to solve it. This seems like the perfect opportunity to put to work every course I have taken in both of the programs that I am pursuing, my MBA and MEM.

To gain a rounded experience, it is as important as the internship challenge and project relevance to me, having fun during the summer and getting to know better the company’s culture and employees. For that, HR has made an excellent effort to bring together my fellow intern class. We have been involved in activities ranging from Intern Olympics and baseball games, to lunch and learns where we get to experience a department and other interns projects.

Additionally, HR did a great job in putting together an intern class which is quite diverse, we range between 19 and 28 years old, we hold different school majors from public communications to mechanical engineering, and are pursuing different disciplines in our internships and current graduate studies to solve different projects that contribute to the company transformation. We come from several parts of the world- did I mention that I was born and raised in Mexico? But I have lived in 7 countries in the past 10 years-  one of the most amazing things at Amway is that despite of this diversity, all of us have one goal in common which is succeed at our internship.

My experience at Amway has been one with many first times, something unusual for somebody who had spent over 5 years in the work force. This is the first time in my career that I received flowers in my desk on my first working day and that I was welcomed with a lunch by my entire department, when my team who is in New York attended via videoconference.  I believe, that explains why most of Amway’s employees have been with the company for double digit years.

I am really excited for the challenges of this summer, because now I have a new set of goals to accomplish for myself and a commitment to reciprocate the trust that my manager invested on me.

Is there any time when you dared to challenge the status quo to follow your dreams?

Editor’s Note:  This post was originally published on the Interns Expose Amway blog.

<!–[endif]–> Everyone had a blast at the Intern Olympics last month! It was a great event to get to know other young professionals in the West Michigan area. Check out the video for intern interviews and clips of games.

Click here to read an article about the event.

Editor’s Note:  This post was originally published on the Interns Expose Amway blog.

In the past month, two of our top notch women at Amway have been given prestigious awards from powerful publications.

Our very own Amway Chief Marketing Officer, Candace Matthews has been named Corporate Executive of The Year. She is the first executive at a privately-held company to receive Black Enterprise magazine’s annual honor. Helping to turn Amway into an even more dynamic global powerhouse is one of the reasons she is Black Enterprise’s 2009 “Corporate Executive of the Year.”

Not only does Amway have the Corporate Executive of the year, but we also have one of Forbes “100 Most Powerful Women”, Eva Cheng.

Eva Cheng, Amway China’s Executive Vice President started at Amway 30 years ago as a secretary in Hong Kong. She has since risen to the top, running our biggest affiliate China, since 1995.

It’s awesome these top woman in our company received such honors. It also showcases that the working environment at Amway fosters innovation, creativity, and endless opportunities. This makes me very excited for the future of this company because it’s obviously in good hands. I look forward to what she and other execs come up with in years to come.

Congrats Ladies!

Editor’s Note:  This post was originally published on the Interns Expose Amway blog.

Last month, a bunch of interns came together with Urban Family Ministries to host a carnival in downtown Grand Rapids, Mich.  It was beautiful day and the kids had a blast. Check out this video to see what how the interns contributed. You can also read Aaron’s post to learn more about the carnival.

If the video does appear for you, please click here.

Enjoy!

Editor’s Note:  This post was originally published on the Interns Expose Amway blog.

I’ve learned one thing that makes Amway such a great company is its history. If there is one person that knows about Amway’s history and who is king of taking people behind the scenes at Amway, it’s John Faye.

In this segment, I meet John, Visitor Services Coordinator at the world headquarters in Ada, Michigan. I attempt to walk in the footsteps (literally) of someone who has seen Amway from it’s beginnings, inside and out (literally), for 36 years!

A few cool things about John:

• John’s parents and grandparents were Independent Business Owners at Amway
• L.O.C. is John’s favorite product for removing stains
• One of his favorite tours was with some Japanese sumo wrestlers
• The year the company was founded, the Christmas dinner was hosted at John’s house

Enjoy!

If this video does not appear for you, click here.

Editor’s Note:  This post was originally published on the Interns Expose Amway blog.

Last week I attended an intern bi-weekly meeting and we had the pleasure of having Doug DeVos, President of Amway, speak to us about the company.  I was really pumped for this event because there are not many opportunities to have an hour and a half (it was only scheduled for an hour, but he was nice enough to stay longer than planned!) of his time to listen to his perspective of the company and ask questions. Also, I think it speaks volumes about the value of Amway’s internship program because people with high positions are taking time out of their day to help make your experience at Amway the best one possible. In fact, Candace Matthews, Amway Chief Marketing Officer, came out to talk to us at our last bi-weekly meeting. You really get the sense that employees here want you to succeed and do well in your professional development.

During Doug’s speech, he touched on three main points about the business. The first one he discussed was unleashing innovation. In order for us to grow as a company, we cannot keep doing the some of the same things, especially if it is not as effective anymore.  Instead, we need to challenge ourselves and think outside of the box. We always need to be thinking about the next step by setting goals and targets. In addition, everyone is responsible for innovation and that we need to continue creating an environment where this can happen.

The second point was the emphasis to focus on consumers. Amway needs to be competitive in the marketplace, but hold on to its foundation and heritage at the same time. To do this, we always need to look at things from a global perspective as well as understand other people’s culture, background, and language. Basically we cannot operate in a vacuum, which can be difficult for many companies. Amway will continue to embrace the challenges that come its way.

Lastly, Amway is performance driven. Everything that we do needs to generate results so we can measure and evaluate. This way we can see what is working and what is not. A good attitude must be present because a person may not receive the results they were expecting. Therefore, a person is challenged to come up with new innovative ideas that will achieve the desired results.

As you can probably tell, the key word throughout Doug’s speech is “challenge”. I believe that this is probably one of the best ways to learn because it forces you to think differently. I know I would not be the person I am today if I just took the easy ways out and kept doing what I was comfortable with.  Have you experience any challenges that changed you personally or professionally that you would like to share?

I hope to hear back from you!

P.S. One of his favorite Amway products is Double X. I couldn’t help myself, I had to ask

Editor’s Note:  This post was originally published on the Interns Expose Amway blog.

One of the reasons I was anxious to graduate from college is because I believed my to-do list would become shorter. The thought of nice relaxing weekends without any homework assignments lingering over my head sounded fabulous. Since graduation, my list appears shorter, but I feel like I am busier than ever. I can’t believe it’s almost July! Lately, my time has being spent on planning a wedding, serving as a PR committee member for the festival of the arts in Grand Rapids, going to open houses for high school graduations, and moving into a new apartment. Needless to say, all of my weekends have been booked.

Interning at Amway Global keeps me quite busy during the day as well. One of the main projects I have been helping with recently is media relations for the Mobile Experiences for Artistry and Nutrilite. They are going to be in Seattle for the Rock ‘N Roll Marathon this weekend and Greg Meyer (the last American male to win the Boston Marathon) is going to be there representing Nutrilite. I also attended the Easter Seals Walk With Me event in Grand Rapids last week. It was awesome to see so many Amway Global employees come out to support the walk. In fact, the company raised $62,000 for Easter Seals.

I am not complaining about being busy. I actually prefer to be busy. I cannot stand not having anything to do, it drives me crazy. That is why I get involved in so many organizations. I love to put my time towards making a difference and developing my professional career. However, I know it is important to have “me” time and to just relax. For me, this usually consists of exercising, watching a movie, shopping, or reading. What works for you? Do you find that sometimes you forget? I know that it sometimes gets put on the back burner for me.

P.S. I am really pumped for Thursday because Doug DeVos will be taking time out of his day to speak to interns. I’m sure it will be great! I will definitely write a post about this one