CommerceUVA Fall 2007 (Investors' Report) - McIntire School of ...

across the whole of the organization and are presently working in
the United States and throughout the world.
For example, this summer Rolls-Royce North America employed
StePhanie Hobart (McIntire ’08) as an intern. Recruited
through the ICe program, she was assigned to the “Customer
Satisfaction Monitor Survey Project,” designed to measure OeM
(original equipment manufacturer) customer satisfaction, improve
our internal processes, and analyze customer feedback. Stephanie
visited Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, twice, as well as our manufacturing
facilities in Germany, Montreal, Wichita, and Indiana.
I have spoken with Dean Zeithaml, and we are seeking to
create more broad-based, international internships. We also aim
to capture McIntire’s foreign student population for our ranks,
especially from such locations as Singapore, China, and India.
I am very pleased that in July 2007, Erica Strine (McIntire
’06) [see sidebar, From Intern to Employee] was chosen as the
North America Trainee of the Year. Th is is the fi rst time someone
from the North American fi nance area was selected. But I am
very pleased and proud of all the McIntire alumni, including
Alena ViVian (McIntire ’06), JacQueline Flood (McIntire ’06),
and Virginia Turner (McIntire ’02), and we are expecting new
recruits this September to make an equal contribution and emerge
as future leaders of the fi nance function, if not the entire company.
How does your organizational culture work with that of
McIntire to create positive results?
POWeRS: Our motto is “Trusted to Deliver excellence.” each
word is signifi cant, and the motto has been designed to convey
our key values and principles. I believe that the McIntire School
seeks a similar level of excellence. I think that the Jeff ersonian
principle of lifelong learning and the School’s longstanding appreciation
of ethics, as evidenced by your honor code, have deep
and meaningful resonance for our organization.
TAYLOR: here at JPMorgan, we defi ne our culture as one driven
by performance, partnership, meritocracy, inclusion, and directness.
Because of the emphasis placed on teamwork and active
participation at McIntire, our interns are prepared to work on live
deals and interact with clients at an early stage. In addition, they
understand the importance of thinking globally when dealing
with clients or markets.
Our culture brings together talented people who enjoy working
together in respect and friendship to achieve great things for
our clients. McIntire fully prepares its students to excel in that
environment.
From Intern to Employee
Erica Strine (McIntire’ 06),
Rolls-Royce “Trainee of the Year”
Thanks to the ICE program, I was able to secure an internship
at Rolls-Royce North America in Business Development.
The internship helped me to see what really happens when
companies look at purchasing or
selling businesses. I had no idea
what a vast amount of time and
effort is put into due diligence.
As a student, it was hard to
grasp the impact and importance
that decisions can have because I
had no real stake in the situation.
Without real-world experience, I
couldn’t know what it meant to
put money, jobs, and a company’s
reputation on the line.
The other great thing about an internship is that
businesses never follow a textbook. I learned to deal with
ambiguity, think outside the box, and make timely, wellconsidered
decisions. My Rolls-Royce internship allowed
me to do all of this while also learning about the “working
culture.” I was used to learning in a controlled atmosphere
built to support my own needs. Real life is not like that.
You must ask questions of your professors and learn
through observation. If you want to get ahead, you have to
make the most of every moment and ask yourself, “How can
this help me?” or “What would I have done differently?”
Overall, I think the internship experience made me a
better contributor to classroom discussions and helped me
to rethink my established stance to learning. The McIntire
experience became more about learning the big picture and
the logic of decision making, rather than memorizing what
some author wrote on page 7, footnote 1.
The internship also played a crucial role in my career at
Rolls-Royce. It was thanks to the internship that I was able to
return to school my fourth year with a job offer in hand.
Internships allow you and your employer to test
each other for fi t, something you can’t fi gure out through
the interview process alone. Because of the internship
experience, I was also able to start work as a full-time
employee in a more advantageous position. I already knew
some aspects of the industry, the organization, its policies
and procedures, and the colleagues I could go to for help
or support. Ultimately, the internship has made me feel
more confi dent and secure in my work and allowed me to
challenge myself and take my skills to the next level.
Fall 2007 • 5