This internship, well, “It’s Grrrrrr-eat!”

By Paul Benario ‘11 - Business Management Information Systems

This summer I have a full time intern position with the Kellogg Company as a part of the IT organization in Oakbrook, Illinois.

I just returned from Foundations, a four-day new hire orientation held at Kellogg headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan.  I am working in the Global IT Building, and I am one of three people in the entire corporation whose job consists of user account administration.  Account administration includes setting up, maintaining and deleting all types of technology-related end accounts.  This may include an employee’s email address or simply access to corporate computers but may also include access for truck drivers, distribution center employees, or plant employees and workers.

The Kellogg IT organization has a total of ten Interns this summer, working on various teams within the IT organization.  During the orientation there was great emphasis on instilling Kellogg’s “K- Values” into all the new hires.  The “K-Values” consist of foundation standards encompassing ethical background and high moral standards of the company, which they encourage all employees to uphold.  An example of a “K-Value” that I really liked was acting with integrity and showing respect and we should “Always assume positive intent.”  This means to assume someone is always doing what he or she should be doing.  It basically means to assume the best about people and their intentions before assuming the opposite.

Kellogg’s has planned for all interns to utilize our various skills to complete a volunteer project for the United Way. The project will be approached as any other full-scale project from planning to implementation, with various groups working on various sections of the project to bring it to completion.

This has definitely been and will continue to be an extremely valuable internship. I really get to experience the corporate way of going about different things since there are so many checks and balances involved.

My internship has provided me with a first hand glimpse into the corporate world as well as the ability to bond with the other interns. I am thoroughly enjoying this internship and highly encourage any student to take advantage of an internship. It is vastly different from classroom learning and experiencing it has a profound effect. By experiencing this first hand it enables you to focus on which aspect of your career you would like to pursue.

A very positive option that I find outstanding is how Kellogg does not have end dates in the Intern’s contracts.  This way the interns can choose to continue to work throughout the school year if they would like and if Kellogg’s would like us to continue.  This option seems to encourage loyalty and dedication.  We are very proud to be affiliated with such a dynamic and well-run organization.

If any Bradley students would like to contact me regarding possible internships at Kellogg’s or in the MIS major, I would love to chat with you. I find that it is a first class organization with an environment that is a pleasure to work in.