Year in Review 2017-2018
The completion of last year surpasses the halfway point in my college experience. Three out of five years gone in the blink of an eye. I have had the opportunity to meet new people, see new places, and make new memories that I will never forget. Throughout all the challenges last year brought me, it also brought me some of the happiest times of my entire life. Last year I worked at AMEND Consulting in the Fall, I took a half semester of full-time classes in the Spring, and I traveled across Europe during the second half of Spring semester. At times, each of these journeys were very difficult but exponentially rewarding.
The Fall was my first rotation at AMEND Consulting. I had just changed my majors to Business Analytics and Operations, but still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I remember my first day at AMEND extremely vividly because it was something completely new for me. My first client was Deceuninck, who produces sidings for windows and doors. When I showed up to the plant, I was utterly shocked. I had never seen a plant floor before and I immediately felt like I was drinking from a fire hose. I had no idea what I was doing, and I hadn’t even taken an Operations or Analytics class yet. I didn’t think I would be able to provide any value because of the little knowledge I had of manufacturing plants. But, with a lot of hard work and commitment, I was able to add $500,000 of revenue to that client within only two months of being there. We were able to dramatically change how they ran their lines and allocated resources and capacity. Throughout the Fall, I used every piece of information I had accumulated to add value to each client I was placed on. We faced some challenges like the clients pushed back at times and questioned why we were there, which was hard. I am thankful that we were able to prove to them that we could make drastic improvements. Overall, AMEND was an incredible experience that I loved and helped me figure out what my passion is and where I want to take my career.
The next portion of my year was the half semester of classes I took in the Spring. I was taking my first Operations and Analytics classes and loved it. I loved partaking in classes that related to my major and were aligned with what I want to do. The classes were a challenge, but I was so interested in the topic that it didn’t matter. I felt like I was learning more about my career and how I can add value to various businesses, not just the textbook material. Classes were intense because it was only for half of the semester. It was great for me because I was able to learn so much in such a short time and when I thought I couldn’t do it, I would just picture myself with all my classmates in Europe and my worry would fade.
When the day we were leaving for Europe finally came, I was ecstatic. I had only left the country once, but only for a short time. I had never had the opportunity to completely immerse myself into other cultures. I couldn’t contain my excitement the whole flight over and I was undeniably happy when we landed in London. The first day was one of the best days of my life. It was incredible to be in a new place with my closest friends. We traveled to London, Toulouse, Barcelona, Riga, Milan, and Geneva as an LHP class and visited countless very interesting companies. We also took day trips to Lake Como, Venice, Yurmula, Sigulda, and a town containing a ski resort in the Swiss Alps. I bonded with my classmates on another level. We shared so many laughs and amazing times. It was so special to be able to share the trip together and spend our last couple of weeks all together in Europe. After the portion of the trip with our entire class, about fifteen of us embarked on the rest of our journey together. We went to Prague, Amsterdam, Brussels, Ibiza, and Paris. Each of these cities were amazing due to the number of things there were to see. The buildings, museums, and attractions were astounding. I loved spending time with my classmates and best friends in Europe. Europe was beautiful and so awesome to see. I will definitely be going back at some point! I loved experiencing these memories with my friends and I will cherish our trip for the rest of my life.
This past year was one of the best of my life for many reasons. I was able to learn what I want to do and where I want my degrees to take me. I learned about my majors outside of the classroom in a co-op that was more valuable for my personal and professional development than words can describe. I took classes that reaffirmed what I learned and made me realize that I was on the right path with my college experience. Europe was the greatest experience of my life. I saw new people and places and was able to do things I never thought I would. I skied in the Swiss Alps, bobsledded in Sigulda, and sky dove in Prague. I will never forget the memories I made. Cheers to this year and the two more years I have to come!