Welcome to the 2017 Dwellworks Intern blog! Each week until mid-August, our summer interns will be blogging about their Dwellworks Experience and musings from the Internship Program.
Below are their thoughts from week six.
Read their blogs from week five here.
Katharine Zavagno | The Biggest Adjustment from College to Work Life
Since beginning my internship at Dwellworks, I have learned to adjust from a sporadic college class schedule to an 8:30 AM-5 PM work day. Initially, waking up early and working 8 hour days was a daunting feat. However, by the second week I eased into a routine and became used to my new schedule. Although I have longer work days at my internship, all my work is completed at the end of the day, whereas at school, the majority of my time is spent completing work outside of class times. Working long hours has allowed me to build a structured daily schedule, ensuring that I have time to fit in all the tasks I wish to accomplish after work. After seven weeks at Dwellworks, I feel comfortable and well-adjusted to work life.
Dan Berghaus | My Favorite Place to Eat Lunch
My favorite place to eat lunch isn’t so much a place as much as it is the company I’m eating lunch with. I’ve found that one of my favorite times of the day is when the interns get together for lunch. Whether it is at Heinen’s, Lemonberry, the plaza in front of our building, or the back kitchen, we always have a great time together during the lunch hour. Lunch serves as a great opportunity for us all to catch up with one another outside of the office.
I also really enjoy getting lunch with the other members of the marketing department, even though they make me try food that’s just a little bit out of my comfort zone! I’ve enjoyed trying new foods with them and surprisingly, out of all the new meals they’ve made me try, only one has actually made me cringe (it was sushi). I guess since my diet consists of hot dogs and chicken nuggets that some new dining options aren’t the worst thing to happen to me anyways; thanks for broadening my palate, marketing team!
Jeff Britton | An Example of How I’ve Experienced the Dwellworks Culture
I have experienced the Dwellworks culture in many ways since my first day here in the office. Over the past month and a half, I have begun to get more familiar with the way the office functions. I have also grown used to the culture of Wednesday yoga whose guitar playing instructor’s chords can be heard peacefully in the background as I work at my desk on the second floor. The culture of Dwellworks is one of people in a casual workplace treating the quality of their work as anything but. The people are what make the culture here in the Cleveland office attractive to be a part of and I know that I have only experienced a fraction of the total culture here, but I am excited to experience just a little more of that culture each and every day.
Emily Llewelyn | Use Pictures to Describe Where My Office is Located
The Dwellworks UK office is based in Truro, Cornwall, in the south west of the UK.
Truro is in mid-Cornwall and is the main city in the county.
The cathedral is the biggest tourist attraction in the city, but with its cobbled streets, great places to eat, a rich history and good links to the rest of the county, it is a great location for both businesses and tourists.
Truro holds many annual events, such as the City of Lights festival and late-night shopping over Christmas time, and visitors flock to the city to enjoy these fun and unique traditions each year.
Leslie Flynn | An Example of How I’ve Experienced the Dwellworks Culture
These past two weeks, the marketing interns spent some time getting to know associates in other departments. We sat with one or two people at their desks in various departments, while they explained what their department does. Then they showed us the software or processes they have to perform their job.
As we moved through the departments, everyone helped us find the desks of who we were looking for in the office. Associates asked us how we were liking our time with Dwellworks and shared their own favorite things about working here. When explaining their jobs, many associates said the best part of their job is that every day is different when you are working with people from all over the world.
During these meetings, I think the most important thing I learned about Dwellworks is that our business truly is people-focused. The associates we met have very different backgrounds and interests, but they all mentioned how rewarding it is to have a happy customer. The services that Dwellworks offers require constant communication and teamwork. I am fortunate to be surrounded by such a caring culture at the start of my professional career.
Hailey Atkins | How I’ve Had Fun at Work This Week
Although interning at Dwellworks is fun every day, lately, I have indulged in a little extra fun with a Fun Committee-sponsored activity. For the past two weeks, Minute to Win It Games have been played in the office. We were split into teams and collaborated in order to complete the games sufficiently. Not only were these games fun to complete and to compete against the other teams, but I enjoyed the message we received after the games, as to why we were playing them. For example, we played a game of Paper Ball Tennis, where you lined up with your team with a notepad in hands and had to pass the paper ball all the way down and land it into the bucket at the end of line. It was difficult because the paper ball was so light and hard to control with the notepad. The message behind the game was as you go through a project or even life, things can go unexpectedly, but if you adjust well and be open-minded, it will lead you to accomplish your goals (or the bucket at the end of the line) a lot easier.
Alex Leszcz | My Favorite Place to Eat Lunch
As anti-social as it is, my favorite place to eat lunch is at my desk. Eating here gives me the opportunity to take a few minutes in my day to relax and catch up on what I missed outside of work all morning. I usually take this time to read my daily email newsletters and catch up on my social media. Sitting at my desk allows me to respond promptly if an important email comes in. Also, when I come back I don’t have things piled up waiting for me. As nice as it is to eat outside on a perfect summer day in downtown Cleveland, doing so makes me miss relaxing at the pool, golfing, or just being outside all day, and I begin to daydream of those activities all afternoon. So, even though it’s not the best place in the world, my desk is my favorite to eat lunch.
Anna Zschuppe | Why I Would Recommend the Dwellworks Internship to Fellow Classmates
Having an internship during your college career is critical in helping you decide your career path after graduation, and for me, there was no better way to gain that experience than at Dwellworks. With this being my second summer internship, I have learned a vast amount of transferrable skills in just my few weeks here that I’m excited to expand on throughout my career.
Rather than typing out paragraphs of what I like about Dwellworks (because they would be endless), I’ll give a bulleted list of some highlights of the internship program and the company itself.
Here as a Dwellworks intern, you’ll have the opportunity to:
And lastly…
Thrive in an organization that pushes you to succeed, grow and challenge yourself!
Oona Haffey | Interview with My Leader
Where did you attend college?
Michelle began her collegiate career in pharmacy at the University of Toledo. After her first year she realized pharmacy wasn’t what she truly enjoyed and transferred to Cleveland State University where she explored the business school. She attended Cleveland State University for both undergraduate and graduate school and she double-majored in finance and accounting.
Did you have any internships during college?
After her sophomore year at Cleveland State University, Michelle landed an internship with Jergens, Inc. which would later end up being her first employer post-college. Michelle interned with Jergens for the remainder of her time at Cleveland State.
How did you get interested in accounting?
Michelle had a good family friend who was a very successful lawyer and he gave her some great advice. He told Michelle that he always wished he learned more about personal finance and investing. With that in mind, Michelle realized the endless opportunities and importance of the business world and began her path in finance and later accounting, where she achieved straight A’s.
Why did you come to Dwellworks?
Michelle wanted a change in her career and Dwellworks was a great fit. Michelle would be able to use all her skills she had developed at her previous employers to help grow the accounting department here. Her colleague Elena Busca, a corporate controller for Dwellworks, pulled Michelle into the company and made her feel at home.
What do you like the most about Dwellworks?
Since Dwellworks has a strong international presence, Michelle has received the opportunity to travel the world and experience many diverse cultures. She enjoys working with people from across the globe and seeing how she can help them achieve their goals.
Aruni Prakash | An Example of How I’ve Experienced the Dwellworks Culture
Dwellworks has a very comfortable and relaxed environment where everyone is friendly and genuine. A big part of the culture here is the various committees that Dwellworks created in order to make the company more inclusive and engaging. Personally, I am involved with the Fun, Philanthropy, Green, and Wellness committees. Each of these groups prepares different events for the entire workplace. Examples of some of these events I attended are the Wellness Walk to The Q, the Dwellworks Cookout, and weekly yoga. Each week there is something different for me to experience with everyone in the company, and I am extremely lucky to work with a company that takes care of its employees and has fun!
To browse more posts about Dwellworks Culture, click here!