Belk’s Post

Halfway through my summer internship at Walmart, I wanted to share some observations about corporate life here: 💰 People Currency: At the Home Office, Walmart truly values its people. 💎 Encouraging Excellence: Walmart pushes you to do your best every day, but they also understand the risks and provide support when things don't go as planned. 1️⃣ Customer First: Every business or project-related meeting I’ve attended always includes someone asking, "What does this do for the customer?" or mentioning how it improves the customer's life. The customer is always the priority. 😁 Amazing People: I've met over 700 interns and countless full-time associates, and I genuinely like every single person I’ve interacted with. ❓ Culture of Inquiry: As an intern, I’ve been encouraged to ask questions, and I’ve seen full-timers and even officer-level associates do the same. It’s a great learning environment. ⭐ Exceptional Leadership: This one means the most to me. My VP, Dave DeSerio, has been an incredible leader for the Fuel & Convenience team. He leads by example, follows through on his commitments, and genuinely cares about the entire team. He knows each of us personally and is hands-on in his approach. To an outsider, it might seem unbelievable, but Dave is our guy. Isn’t it crazy that the world doesn’t always expect leaders to be this engaged and knowledgeable about their direct reports? I feel incredibly lucky to have him as a mentor this summer. Dave sets the standard for how a leader should operate day-to-day. #intern #walmartintern #fy24intern #goodleadership #walmart #growth #learning #makingchanges #corporateworld The University of Alabama The University of Alabama Honors College

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On #NationalInternDay, a big shout-out to our past and present interns! At RS, education, and innovation are core goals, and we're thrilled to have three amazing interns this summer. To mark this day, we asked our current #interns what excites them most about their summer learning journey! "I would like to grasp what the team I am working for does to support the sales force, improve on any necessary technical and soft skills involved with my role this summer, and determine if the sales side of the industry is a career path for me consider" -Jaime Mejia Major: Industrial Distribution, graduating fall2023 Team: Sales Effectiveness Team "I'm excited to learn how all the parts of RS fit together to fully support its employees and customers alike by strengthening my soft skills through actively applying them while I learn about the nitty-gritty details of the distribution and, more specifically, warehouse operations." -Leah McBride Major: Industrial Distribution, graduating fall 2023 Team: Warehouse Operations "I am excited to learn the RS strategies that make their supply chain run efficiently and be able to learn business practices from my colleagues that contribute to the success of RS." -Cristian Vela Major: Industrial Distribution, graduating spring 2024 Team: Product and Supply Management

So happy to have been able to coordinate this experience for our Cohort 3 interns! It’s such an integral element of professional growth in an organization, to be able to experience and to understand the processes and runnings of every single department and section of the business. Only then can one make informed decisions. #professionalgrowth #HR #MassyStoresTrinidad #MSTT

"What you did, saw, and/or learned (good or bad) in your job/internship over the course of the semester that was beneficial for your future, would I be pleased with the way I performed at work this year if I were my manager? What are three tangible career goals I can set for myself for the Spring semester? What can I do to go above and beyond my job description for the Spring semester?" In the past semester I have been through many different career experiences, I spent a large majority of my time at Publix, where I learned and became proficient in many avenues of the retail industry. Unfortunately, I encountered an issue with getting hours, so I had to quit, and find employment at "Lee Wrangler." Here I used my Publix skills to keep up with my store, making sure everything was stocked and neatly folded. I also learned how to operate a cash register while at Lee Wrangler. If i were my manager at either spot of employment I would be ecstatic to have me on the team. I provide hard work and dedication to my job whilst also providing a friendly environment for my coworkers. In the future I plan to keep improving and reaching goals that I have set myself. for example, achieving a raise. I would also like to gain more experience in my work tasks, so I can become the best at them, to furthermore prove myself as a dependable and dedicated worker. finally, I would like to gain more hours Aswell. this would not only help me financially but also gain me the experience I need. Going above and beyond what I'm asked for is something I pride myself in. I go above and beyond with my effort, despite knowing other workers in my same position do less than me yet earn more. #RiverRidgeWBL #GeorgiaWBLworks 

Excited to announce that last week I started my internship with ABC Appliance Repair as their Warehouse and Inventory Manager and their Assistant Route Coordinator! Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and I’m happy my first industry experience will be at one. I’m excited to start this journey, and looking forward to building a new inventory management system for the company using what I’ve learned from the University of Arkansas ­- Sam M. Walton College of Business excellent J.B. Hunt Transport Department of Supply Chain Management at the University of Arkansas helmed by Brian Fugate. Keep an eye out for more updates as I venture into this next phase of my professional path! #thisishowweintern #Waltonsupplychain #supplychain #BeEPIC #SupplyChainU

What an incredible opportunity to day trip with walmart In the world of clunky CRMs, workflow optimizers, and KPI monitoring, it can be challenging to truly grasp where institutional knowledge sits. However, I feel real estate, being that it is impossibly intertwined as physical assets with unlimited entanglements to the larger geo-economical picture, will always operates in a unique space where years of experience, oral tradition and hands-on practice set people apart. Osmosis learning on trips like these keep astounding me—absorbing over 100 years of retail real estate experience in just a few hours is not only enlightening but also a masterclass in optimization. The mentor-mentee relationship is key to preserving these practices. We must commit to learning from those with extensive experience to continue advancing the industry with the same rigor and excellence. Early in my career, someone advised me to always try to be the dumbest person in the room and to just say "YES" to everything. To be a sponge and soak up as much as possible. At times, I felt like a burden. But Walmart has been the opposite. Entering into opportunities like this and the Walmart internship as a whole is the cornerstone of who I strive to be—constantly seeking new experiences that push me both personally and professionally.

During my internship as a Manager at At Home Décor Superstore in Dallas, I spearheaded numerous projects aimed at optimizing store operations and enhancing customer satisfaction. This internship has been a transformative experience, providing valuable insights into leadership, teamwork, and customer-focused initiatives. One of the key responsibilities of my role involved strategically managing projects to relocate and clear products within the store. Balancing time, manpower, and maintaining normal store operations required meticulous planning and execution. This experience honed my project management skills and taught me the importance of adaptability in a dynamic retail environment. A significant aspect of my role was generating Insider Perks and credit card sign-ups. Leading shifts, I focused on engaging customers and successfully increased perks sign-ups by an average of 5-50%. In the month of November, I also had the highest number of At Home Credit Card sign-up's within the whole store. This highlighted the direct impact of proactive customer interaction on key performance indicators at the individual, store, and district levels. Creating an open and inclusive work environment was a priority for me. I encouraged team members to ask questions and provide input, fostering a culture where everyone felt heard, seen, and acknowledged for their contributions. Over the course of my internship, I successfully decreased customer-submitted complaints by an average of 75%, showcasing the effectiveness of prompt and effective issue resolution. In conclusion, my internship at At Home Décor Superstore provided me with a hands-on understanding of leadership, project management, and customer-focused strategies in a retail setting. The challenges I encountered have equipped me with valuable lessons that extend beyond the confines of the store, preparing me for future leadership roles. This experience has been instrumental in shaping my professional growth, and I am eager to apply these lessons in my future career endeavors. I want to thank my leaders and team for working hard along side me every day. #InternshipReflection #LeadershipChallenges #CustomerFocus #RetailManagement  #UTDBSMKT, #JSOMINTERN

As my internship with Albertsons Companies / Safeway draws to a close, I've appreciated the opportunity to learn some important business- focused lessons.         1.      It Pays to Embrace Sustainability! While the primary focus of any company is revenue generation, in this era of corporate social responsibility, sustainability shouldn’t be viewed as merely an aspirational goal unrelated to business success. Sustainable business practices can generate opportunities that fit with the business goals of driving revenue and increasing earnings, for example by minimizing waste and loss. I spent much of my Safeway internship working in the Asset Recovery Center (ARC) of its Northern California distribution center. The ARC is a department dedicated to revitalizing materials used in the distribution process, by collecting and repurposing materials like cardboard and plastic from stores that can be sold on to buyers. During my internship, I successfully identified and connected with a buyer for a specific material that hadn't previously been repurposed by the ARC. This new connection is projected to contribute around $220,000 annually to the distribution center's earnings. This impact goes beyond financial gains—it plays a role in making the world a better place.         2.      Taking Initiative Matters.   When I began as an intern, I found myself repeating phrases like "I'm just an intern; I can't…" or "I don't want to interfere…". I quickly realized, though, that this wasn't going to get my job done. Change and growth demand stepping out of one's comfort zone. I began to actively pursue the answers I needed to achieve my project goal, engaging with company leaders, volunteering for tasks that my superiors needed help with, and establishing connections with vendors crucial to the distribution center. My intention was not for my internship project to remain theoretical; I aspired to leave a tangible improvement with Safeway and the distribution center. I look forward to applying this sense of initiative to my future career, and deepening of my understanding of sustainability. This internship opportunity has been an invaluable experience- one that I wholeheartedly recommend to prospective university students with an interest in the realm of supply chain management.

As my Retail Sales internship at Driscoll's comes to an end, I wanted to share an update on my projects and accomplishments during my time here! With the support of Thomas Ansolabehere and Lisandro Albor, I was able to complete the first of my five excel based projects. Focusing on creating time savings, simplifying processes, adding value, and increasing efficiency, I was able to engineer a fully automated order entry sheet builder that decreased the time spent on this task from one hour to 15 minutes per week. With the support of Alexsis Navarro-Calero, I engineered a similar sheet with the same values in mind for my second project, decreasing time spent on this sheet building process from 45 minutes a week to 15. Shifting my focus into my third project, and with support from David Ghio and Alexsis Navarro-Calero, I automated another excel sheet that is used in daily communication and order entry for a top account. I was able to create more organization within the sheet and decrease time spent on this task, transforming an incredibly manual and time consuming process into a streamlined procedure, now taking no more than 15 minutes to complete. For my fourth project, I shifted my focus to an account that I was not familiar with to automate another order entry and order adjustment process. With the support of Maria Vasquez and Jorge Vargas, I engineered an excel tool that creates order adjustments for you based on limited information creating another timesaving's for my team. The implementation of my tool was able to save my coworker 30-45 minutes a week on order adjustments. For my fifth and final project, and with the support of Jensen Devaurs, I focused on another account that I was not familiar with to edit an existing excel file that is also used in daily communication and order entry with a top account. Through my changes, the sheet now automatically generates projected volumes and pricing with the simple adjustment of one cell. My work on this sheet was able to create a 30-45 minute time savings a week for my coworker. I was also able to conduct 11 informational interviews with representatives from different departments in an effort to create more connections and learn more about how Driscoll's operates as a company. I am truly grateful for my time here, and can confidently say I will walk away with a new passion and appreciation for the fresh produce industry as a whole. I would like to express my gratitude to Angie Martinez for organizing intern events, Natalie Ramirez and Rose Clark-Palacios for their guidance, Katelyn Filkins for her mentorship, David Ghio and Thomas Ansolabehere for their incredible management, and last but not least Lisandro Albor, Alexsis Navarro-Calero, Jorge Vargas, Greg Andersen, Fidel Navarro, and the countless others who have provided guidance and support throughout my time here. I cannot express enough how transformative and incredible this experience has been. #internship #project #excel