Name: Lauren Johnson
Major: Canfield BHP, Plan II Honors, Management Information Systems
Previous internship: Indirect Procurement Intern at Whole Foods
Topics of Interest: Country music, music production, appreciating the outdoors, sustainability
When the pandemic hit, various students with internships and study abroad plans for the summer were thrown for a loop. With the economy in disarray, many Canfield BHP students had to find other ways to make their summer a productive one. Lauren Johnson, a Canfield BHP, Plan II Honors, and Management Information Systems senior, is a perfect example of one of those students.
After her plans to study abroad over the summer were canceled due to the pandemic, Lauren began to search for an internship. Eventually, she landed a position as an Indirect Procurement Intern at Whole Foods. In the midst of everything going on, these last-minute internships were incredibly competitive; Lauren said certain experiences in McCombs made her more confident about the possibility of receiving an offer.
“Like everyone else, I felt like I was just scrambling for an internship and I found (the Whole Foods opportunity) on LinkedIn,” Lauren said, “I think something that set me apart was an event put on like through (the Undergraduate Business Council– UBC) where we hosted the CEO of Whole Foods. I actually got to see him after the event and talk to him, so in my interview, I was able to provide insight into the values of the company because I’d had a conversation with the CEO, which was really cool.”
Lauren completed her internship remotely from Denver, Colorado, where she spent her summer. While she said working in-person certainly would have been a good opportunity to, she still had an incredible experience. From working with a small, passionate team to handling a variety of projects throughout the summer.
“I was working with two teams: the Quality Standards team and the Indirect Procurement team. In quality standards I did a lot of ad hoc projects in different areas, like researching developments in a form of agriculture or completing an analysis on survey results about seafood sustainability or even managing the team’s internal website,” Lauren said. “On the Indirect Procurement team, we handled all of the hand sanitizers and PPE and stuff like that. Related to that, I worked on a recycling project consolidating information about packaging materials. It was a great opportunity to be a part of a bigger mission for sustainability and Whole Foods.”
In addition to loving her work, Lauren said she enjoyed Whole Foods culture, even virtually, because of the passion of the individuals she worked with.
“It was the coolest group of people I’ve ever met in a workplace setting,” Lauren said. “And it was really fascinating, as there were only 17 people actually– all women– on the team. It was just a group of people who were so passionate and driven and so dedicated to making, decisions that benefit everyone. They wanted to benefit the customer, the company, but also all the farmers and suppliers.”
When it came to working with all these individuals, Lauren said Canfield BHP classes and culture prepared her well.
“(Canfield) BHP prepared me for this internship by equipping me to work in a professional setting in general. Being in BHP, you’re around such driven people and such intelligent people that it really drives you,” Lauren said. “I think when (Canfield BHP students) enter a workplace, people really notice that work ethic. Being in the program has taught me to work really well on teams as well, which helped this summer since I worked on team projects at Whole Foods.”