Renata Mello: Beyond Your Boundaries in Your Own Home Country
When you intern with one of the largest chemical companies in the world you have no option but to discover yourself and your professional goals. Dow AgroSciences allowed me to do just that. At Dow, I had the opportunity to solidify my professional goals and notice the workplace differences between my home country, Brazil, and the United States. When I returned home from my internship I was a different person than when I first arrived to the company. My personal beliefs had changed and also some aspects of my business skills. I strengthened my desire to work in the marketing field, improved my analytical skills, and increased my self-awareness beyond belief. I always knew that marketing was the appropriate subject for me to study, but spending time at Dow AgroSciences opened my eyes to the endless possibilities that the marketing profession could potentially bring to me.
After three months interning at Dow I had to present on a project that me and another intern worked on together. This experience was the one that had the biggest impact on me during my internship experience, for two main reasons. The first is seeing all of our hard work come together to create a project that would impact the company is something I will always be proud of. It was also a neat experience to share this project with another intern. It wasn’t as intimidating having someone beside you going through the same problems and struggles as you. Working with another person allowed us to have a stronger project since we were able to bounce ideas back and forth between each other.
The second reason this project is my most memorable experience is that it taught me how to give a presentation in front of extremely important people like a board of directors. Students typically do not get the opportunity to present in front of people in the business world. Presenting in front of your classmates is nowhere near as difficult since you know them and are more comfortable with them. In the classroom you are in an environment where, essentially, you cannot fail. When you are presenting in front of the most important people in the company, you can certainly fail. It was so nerve racking speaking in front of these businessmen, but it really strengthened my presentation skills. I now know that I can present in front of anyone without any problems. This is something that will help me in my marketing career since I now know that I can speak in front of almost anybody.
When I arrived at the company my heart was beating out of my chest due to the nerves. I felt overwhelmed and was not sure if I was truly meant to be there, but thankfully I was put with an extremely helpful supervisor who helped reassure me that I was obviously meant to be there since I was one of the few chosen. Adriano is one of the greatest people I have ever met. He took me under his wing and managed to teach me a lot of what he knows in a matter of three months. Adriano is by far the person I was closest with at the company. He gave me so many opportunities that I will be grateful for forever. Adriano took me to meet with supervisors from all of the subdivisions of Dow AgroSciences. Many of the other interns did not get the opportunities that I got so I was extremely lucky to get a supervisor as wonderful as Adriano. He really empowered me and instilled in me a self-belief that I was lacking before I arrived at Dow AgroSciences. What Adriano helped me most with was my presentation to the board of directors. He came to watch us present and gave me so much advice before and after the presentation. He was really impressed with our presentation, but I was glad that he also felt comfortable enough with me to tell me what he would have changed and how to improve for the next time I have a presentation.
I definitely believe that my internship opportunity was the perfect one for me. Even though the internship was in my home country, I still felt like I was experiencing a whole other world since I have spent the past four years in America. Studying at Lander I have learned how the American business world works, but by doing my internship in Brazil I now understand a little bit more about the Brazilian business practices. This will give me an advantage over some other people since I have both experiences in the U.S. business and Brazilian.
My internship experience taught me so much about myself that I didn’t know was in me. When I first set out on this journey my sole purpose was to simply have an experience that I could put on a resume, but it ended up being so much more than that. Looking back on it, it was a journey where I discovered a lot about myself.
Interning at a multinational company like Dow gave me so many opportunities to learn more about myself and gain skills in my field of study. I was able to put in practice marketing concepts that I learnt at Lander and proved to myself that I am capable of doing things beyond my boundaries. Overall, this experience changed my life in many more ways than I would have thought. I came across a quote that sums up the experience beautifully- “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” –Oliver Holmes
After three months interning at Dow I had to present on a project that me and another intern worked on together. This experience was the one that had the biggest impact on me during my internship experience, for two main reasons. The first is seeing all of our hard work come together to create a project that would impact the company is something I will always be proud of. It was also a neat experience to share this project with another intern. It wasn’t as intimidating having someone beside you going through the same problems and struggles as you. Working with another person allowed us to have a stronger project since we were able to bounce ideas back and forth between each other.
The second reason this project is my most memorable experience is that it taught me how to give a presentation in front of extremely important people like a board of directors. Students typically do not get the opportunity to present in front of people in the business world. Presenting in front of your classmates is nowhere near as difficult since you know them and are more comfortable with them. In the classroom you are in an environment where, essentially, you cannot fail. When you are presenting in front of the most important people in the company, you can certainly fail. It was so nerve racking speaking in front of these businessmen, but it really strengthened my presentation skills. I now know that I can present in front of anyone without any problems. This is something that will help me in my marketing career since I now know that I can speak in front of almost anybody.
When I arrived at the company my heart was beating out of my chest due to the nerves. I felt overwhelmed and was not sure if I was truly meant to be there, but thankfully I was put with an extremely helpful supervisor who helped reassure me that I was obviously meant to be there since I was one of the few chosen. Adriano is one of the greatest people I have ever met. He took me under his wing and managed to teach me a lot of what he knows in a matter of three months. Adriano is by far the person I was closest with at the company. He gave me so many opportunities that I will be grateful for forever. Adriano took me to meet with supervisors from all of the subdivisions of Dow AgroSciences. Many of the other interns did not get the opportunities that I got so I was extremely lucky to get a supervisor as wonderful as Adriano. He really empowered me and instilled in me a self-belief that I was lacking before I arrived at Dow AgroSciences. What Adriano helped me most with was my presentation to the board of directors. He came to watch us present and gave me so much advice before and after the presentation. He was really impressed with our presentation, but I was glad that he also felt comfortable enough with me to tell me what he would have changed and how to improve for the next time I have a presentation.
I definitely believe that my internship opportunity was the perfect one for me. Even though the internship was in my home country, I still felt like I was experiencing a whole other world since I have spent the past four years in America. Studying at Lander I have learned how the American business world works, but by doing my internship in Brazil I now understand a little bit more about the Brazilian business practices. This will give me an advantage over some other people since I have both experiences in the U.S. business and Brazilian.
My internship experience taught me so much about myself that I didn’t know was in me. When I first set out on this journey my sole purpose was to simply have an experience that I could put on a resume, but it ended up being so much more than that. Looking back on it, it was a journey where I discovered a lot about myself.
Interning at a multinational company like Dow gave me so many opportunities to learn more about myself and gain skills in my field of study. I was able to put in practice marketing concepts that I learnt at Lander and proved to myself that I am capable of doing things beyond my boundaries. Overall, this experience changed my life in many more ways than I would have thought. I came across a quote that sums up the experience beautifully- “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” –Oliver Holmes