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.

The Third Annual West Michigan Intern Olympics provided a great learning and connection-building experience for interns from Amway, Steelcase, Meijer, Perrigo, Wolverine World Wide, GFS and Spectrum Health. The day involved competitive interns, games, colorful bananas, sunburns and most importantly, networking.

While right now I look like Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer and I’m sporting an obvious farmer’s tan (more like burn), I had a great time yesterday. It was all clear skies, the sun was out and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I have to say my favorite game was Tug-o-war. The interns really seemed to get into it. I don’t want to brag or anything, but my team won that round.

But really, the interns in attendance were the cream of the crop of West Michigan. I met and formed connections from interns who work in labs, HR, and IT departments. Keep in mind I know nothing about chemistry or computers, but we found things to talk about and ways to relate to each other.

Overall, this experience has taught me how to network with my peers, not to mention remembering to apply sunscreen on my nose beforehand.

Watch a recap of the Olympics and to see how much fun everyone had!

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

It’s another beautiful day in West Michigan!  Well I’m considering it beautiful because it isn’t raining…it’s still cloudy but I came to terms with the cloudy skies a long time ago.  I’m starting my fifth week as an intern with Amway, if you read my first blog you already know that I love working in the lab and that I can’t get enough of this place.

So let’s cut to the chase, I am finally able to work in the lab!  I finished all of the training I had to go through on the computer and am in the thick of various qualifications.  Qualifications, it makes me feel so official….. I mean just think of the dinner table conversation: “So how was work today? Do anything fun?” as I respond “Oh you know, just got qualified on the High Performance Liquid Chromatography instrument and the Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography instrument….no big deal.”  No big deal?!  Inside I’m like a kid in a candy store every time I go into the lab.  I’m jumping up and down on the inside at the thought of finally being able to work on the different instruments!

I may or may not have said this in my first blog but I have a low thrill threshold coupled with being easily amused.  When you put the two of these together you can imagine I get excited about the simple things in life.  For example, last week when I was observing another analyst weigh out a sample (part of the training) she needed 1.2000 grams of the sample but there is a bit of a cushion so you don’t need to get exactly 1.2000 grams.  So she starts weighing it out and ends up at 1.2001 grams…. I am a bit embarrassed to say that I got just as excited about this as when the United States tied up their World Cup game this past weekend.  Things like that happen every day at work and outside of work.  Some may say that I am still a kid inside…but I’m okay with that, I have no plans of growing out of my child like curiosity and excitement for the “every day” things.  It makes life more enjoyable!

A little while ago I also ordered two pieces of equipment called columns, one is 150 mm long and the other is 250 mm long.  When they came in, I again was very excited…to the point that I feel like I should give them names.  Leave it to guys to name inanimate objects like cars, boats, etc….so why not a piece of analytical equipment, right?  I was kind of leaning towards Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss as possible names…but I am open to suggestions.

Quick recap since I bounced all over the place this time around, I still love it here as a matter of fact I like it more and more every day.  The lab is amazing and so are the people that work in it.  This week we have West Michigan Intern Olympics and a Whitecaps game with our mentors.  I have high hopes of bringing home a trophy for Amway to be completely honest but I suppose the real goal is to just have fun right?  Well I am a bit competitive so let’s do our best and hopefully bring home the gold!

Until next time, thanks for reading and I have a bit of a challenge for you:

Can you find your inner child, that unexplainable curiosity and enjoy the simple things in life, if even just for a day this week?

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

We are T-6 days until over 60 Amway interns go full force in competing for the 1^st place title of the 3^rd Annual West Michigan Intern Olympics. This being my third time participating in this event, I am sorry to report that Amway has gotten 2^nd place the two previous years. Good news though; I think the third time is a charm and this is our year!

So, what exactly is the “West Michigan Intern Olympics” anyway? Glad you asked.

This event brings interns from 7 of the top West Michigan companies together for 3 hours of friendly competition. The First Annual Olympics included inaugural companies Amway and Steelcase. Last year, Meijer, Gordon Food Service, Perrigo, and Wolverine Worldwide were added to the mix, and now this year, Spectrum Health interns will be joining.

From my past Olympic experience I can say that this event is a great networking event to not only mingle with fellow Amway interns but to also meet the many young professionals from the above companies. Besides that, participating in the Olympics gives interns the opportunity to trade in their heels for tennis shoes and step out of the office for the afternoon and participate in some fun games. Last year, we had a couple of intense situations as the Red Team (my team) created an amazing strategy for winning the hula hoop contest. Despite the strategy (that seemed fair!) that brought us a win in that event, we were labeled cheaters. It was a fun time, anyway. Moral of that story: listen to event rules carefully. The tug-o-war is always a big hit, and of course, the competition becomes heated during the final trophy winning event when our abilities were tested through a series of brain teasers, math problems, and a relay race.

Last year, we gained a lot of media exposure through the radio, several news articles, television coverage, and we even landed a spot on Fox17 with Emily Richett where she showcased several of us Amway interns.

This event is something you definitely do not want to miss! To stay up-to-date, check out Amway’s Facebook by clicking here.

Amway fought a hard battle last summer, but came out in 2^nd. This year, it is our turn to take home the trophy!