Student Spotlight: Anvitha Makineni

 

Meet Anvitha Makineni, H-E-B Merchandising & Procurement Intern

What were you doing in your role?

This summer, I had the chance to be a merchandising and procurement intern alongside a senior buyer in H-E-B’s school/office team. It provided me with a really unique perspective in understanding how the core general merchandise segments of H-E-B coexist with the grocery side of the business. A typical day for me consisted of anything from sitting in on back-to-school product review meetings, interviewing key suppliers, attending leadership panels, and working on my internship projects. My main project was all about creating greater loyalty among the Texas teacher community. Teachers spend a lot of their own money purchasing classroom school supplies, so my job was to identify unique ways to meet teacher needs while also increasing overall category growth. It was a super fun project to take on!

Aside from this project, I also worked on other projects like recommending everyday journal assortments, identifying new buying opportunities, conducting financial analyses of different merchandising techniques, assessing pricing hierarchies, and improving the overall category marketing strategy.

Biggest lesson you learned, or ways you grew from this internship?

Although cliche, the biggest lesson I learned was truly not being afraid to ask questions. I quickly realized that everyone on my team was so welcoming and supportive and wanted nothing but to help me grow. They were receptive to all of my questions and ideas, and everyone had such great insight and experience to share. I also connected with a lot of H-E-B partners outside my direct team to ask questions, and everyone was so open to meeting with me and sharing their unique journey. I would definitely say to leverage your title as intern and learn from as many people as you can!

What did you like most about the internship?

I really enjoyed being a part of H-E-B’s culture and mission. H-E-B has such a huge “People Matter” mindset. Although I heard a lot about this term as I was recruited, it was a completely different experience actually living it. H-E-B truly prioritizes its partners, and everyone carries so much trust, care, and understanding for one another. They also do so much to strengthen Texas communities. From providing grants to outstanding educators to providing large-scale disaster relief resources, I really admired their heart for people.

Anything else you want to point out to other students about your internship experience?

Learn a lot and have fun! The summer will fly by, so get involved with your projects and take every opportunity to meet new people.

Student Spotlight: Ayomide Akosile

Ayomide Akosile Headshot

Ayomide Akosile

Topics of Interest: Product Management, Entrepreneurship, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)

From working at Google to BCG to Salesforce, Ayomide Akosile has demonstrated continued success in all of his endeavors so far as part of the Canfield Business Honors Program. Ayomide is currently a junior who is majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and he transferred into Canfield BHP last year as a sophomore. “I’ve gained many mentor figures in the CBHP community who I would not be at this point in my career without,” said Ayomide when asked about his favorite part of Canfield BHP. 

Read on to learn more about Ayomide’s interests and some of his plans for the summer!

Continue reading

Student Spotlight: Joyce He

Topics of Interest: Texas CSB, Software Engineering, Product Management, Microsoft

Originally from Plano, TX, Joyce He is a student in the CSB program. Joyce was able to utilize Texas CSB as a way to study business and technology simultaneously efficiently. Career-wise, Joyce has served as a Software Engineer Intern and, most recently, as a Product Management Intern with Microsoft. You can find Joyce hiking, running, and spending time in the pottery studio in her free time.

What did your recruiting process look like at Microsoft?

My recruiting process for software engineering was pretty standard for the industry. For preparation, I practiced a lot of coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, Binary Search, and Hacker Rank. I also did mock interviews and informal practice sessions with my peers. The Facebook Above and Beyond Computer Science programs were also beneficial in preparing me for technical interviews. The process included phone screens that had both behavioral and technical questions. The way I transitioned into product management was internally through the established discipline change process.

What was the biggest takeaway from your internship?

My biggest takeaway is to always advocate for myself. While you have advisors, peers, and faculty to support you in school, you are more on your own when working. If I was unhappy with my projects or felt like I wanted to challenge myself to grow in other areas as a PM, I had to voice my thoughts to my manager actively. While my manager was my greatest advocate, she could only advocate for me if she knew what I wanted. Knowing what you need or want and asking for it is essential! Even if I didn’t know what I wanted opportunity-wise, I would ask my manager if there were areas I was lacking, and she would point out areas where I could grow. Part of self-advocacy is also humbling yourself to ask where you can improve.

Is there anything you might have done differently?

I would have failed sooner. A huge part of product management is writing product spec documents to communicate goals, timelines, and product ideas to engineers, UI/UX designers, and upper management. I was tasked with writing a couple of specs this summer for my projects, and one of my biggest regrets was not roughly writing a couple sooner to get feedback. I felt pressured to edit my drafts until they felt presentable or perfect before sharing them with my coworkers for feedback, but I would have learned how to write better specs a lot faster if I had put my ideas on paper and shipped them out.

What advice can you share for students interested in pursuing a career in product management?

Build things! Product managers are essentially entrepreneurs within larger companies (some call them intrapreneurs). The way to gauge whether you like it and create experience on your resume is to get your hands dirty. If you have ideas for products, try building them on your own. It doesn’t take much these days to make a website, app, prototype, etc. Taking an idea from conception to creation gives you substance to talk about in interviews and builds product sense/intuition.

How has Canfield BHP prepared you for your role?

Canfield BHP classes were pretty critical to helping me stand out in my role. While most product managers at tech companies come in with strong technical backgrounds, few have the business acumen crucial to driving relevant decisions. Courses such as MKT 337H taught by Professor Gabbi, ACC 312H taught by Professor Eric Chan, and MIS 301H taught by Professor Anand, helped me make thoughtful decisions that helped me stand out throughout my internship. I was also used to being thrown into more open-ended projects because of the way CBHP curriculum is structured.

Can you share some of your plans for next summer?

I’m graduating in December, so next summer, I’ll be working full-time in Seattle as a Product Manager at Microsoft! I’m super excited to go back and join the Azure Storage team. Plus, the Pacific Northwest has some of the hiking scenes in the US, so hopefully, I’ll be out on some trails next summer too.

Student Spotlight: Hugo Sandoval

Hugo Sandoval Headshot

Hugo Sandoval

Topics of Interest: APC Collective, Support Latino Business, Business & Politics, Tech, RISE,

Hugo Sandoval is a junior in the Canfield Business Honors Program. This past summer, he spent his time working with APC Collective, a communications agency that helps clients increase their reach, relationships, and positive impact: “I’ve been interested in politics and tech for most of my life, and my love for business grew in college.” Hugo is also involved with RISE, a mentorship organization that teaches underserved high school students skills in financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and college.

Read on to learn more about Hugo’s internship experiences and some of his advice for students interested in pursuing a career in politics and business!

Continue reading

Student Spotlight: Jose Herreria

Jose Herreria Headshot

Jose Herreria

Topics of Interest: Management Consulting, PwC, Bain & Company, Mentorship, Internships

Jose Herreria recently spent his summer in Chicago with PwC as a Start Strategy Consulting Intern. “I learned how important it is to set up coffee chats with everyone you meet,” said Herreria when asked about his biggest takeaways in his consulting internship. Herreria also participated in Bain & Company’s BEL Program and will continue as an Associate Consultant Intern at their Dallas office this summer.

Read on to learn more about Jose’s internship experiences and some of his advice for students interested in management consulting!

Continue reading