I am feeling especially grateful this Thanksgiving for what I gained during four incredible weeks this past summer. 在那短暂的一段时间里，我有幸成为Barry-Wehmiller的实习生.
But while the rest of the interns with whom I worked called Barry-Wehmiller’s beloved CEO Mr. 无论是查普曼还是鲍勃，他对我来说永远都是鲍比.
鲍勃·查普曼是我的祖父. As his namesake and the eldest of his 22 grandchildren, 鲍比 and I have always had a special bond. 当我年轻的时候, my family spent the Fourth of July holiday in Aspen with my grandparents and I ‘helped’ 鲍比 drive the tractor that pulled the rest of our family on a hay wagon through the big parade. 很多个早晨, 鲍比 and I woke up at six and he waited while I pulled on my froggy rain boots before venturing up to the paddocks to feed the horses while everyone else continued to dream in their beds.
Over the years our relationship has adapted to encompass our busy schedules but we have always managed to stay close through emails, 文本, 电话和偶尔的拜访. 我在夏洛特长大的时候, 北卡罗莱纳, 鲍比 always made it a priority to stop by while on a visit to one of Barry-Wehmiller’s plants nearby. 每次他来访, he joined our family for dinner to learn about the latest developments in our lives.
在我高中四年级的开始, 博比又来拜访了, 但这次推荐全球十大博彩公司排行榜有两个理由庆祝. 第一件事是我被纽约哥伦比亚大学录取. 尽管鲍比非常以我为荣, I remember him telling me with great conviction that I should not let a school define me and encouraged me to seek purpose in my life.
From that point forward, many of our discussions revolved around determining my career path. The second piece of exciting news was the book deal for Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family. The pride that 鲍比 felt toward his company and the opportunity to tell its story through this book was incredibly inspiring and piqued my interest in the Barry-Wehmiller community.
我在哥伦比亚大学一年级的时候, 博比经常去纽约与出版商会面. He often invited me to attend those sessions because I had admitted to having a passion for editing during our talks about my future. 不幸的是, 我从来没能参加他的实际会议, 但在一次推荐全球十大博彩公司排行榜的咖啡约会中, 我跟他说我正在想我的暑假计划. He casually mentioned that I consider an internship with Barry-Wehmiller where preparation and pre-promotion for the book would be in full swing.
说实话，我原以为在巴里-韦米勒的实习会有些枯燥. I grew up with a father who often came home from his corporate job feeling exhausted and unsatisfied in his role. I unintentionally associated this type of attitude with all desk jobs and so I thought the BW internship would be the same.
现在回想起来，我知道我当时是多么天真地相信了这一点. My internship with Barry-Wehmiller proved to be an unbelievably unique and wonderful experience where I was surrounded by people full of life, 思想与幸福. Every morning I walked into the office and everyone made eye contact with me and greeted me enthusiastically. People that I didn’t know and whom didn’t know me would come up and introduce themselves so that they could address me by name the next day. On my way to get coffee I would pass many desks where co-workers were asking each other about their families and plans for the weekends. 这看起来并不无聊, quiet office that I used to visit with my father when I was younger; the Barry-Wehmiller office was teeming with energy and productivity.
I was given the opportunity to work with the book team as well as on several other projects. 即使我是一个没有经验的实习生, 我一直被认为在谈话中有平等的发言权. I was routinely encouraged and felt completely comfortable offering my ideas and input. 从第一天起, they extended their trust in me and my ability to decide the best way to get the needed job accomplished and then let me run with it.
One of the most rewarding and amazing parts of the experience were Daily Touch Meetings with the People Team. 10分钟的会议, 坚持每天的第一件事, was designed to be a quick sharing of each team member’s projects and needs with the intent to increase efficiency and make each team member feel as if she or he was getting the most out of the experience.
每次会议都以题为“承认”的部分开始 & Celebration” where team members recognize one another for any type of positive event, 比如完成一个项目, 帮助需要帮助的朋友, 成功召开会议, 或者祝贺你有了新宝宝. It was very inspiring to see the sincere appreciation the team had for each other’s contributions and successes both at work and at home.
当我回想起我和巴里·韦米勒在一起的时候, I realized that I had spent my internship amongst a group of friends who truly cared about me, 不仅仅是同事. 鲍比想给我一次经历，帮助我找到梦想中的职业. And while I am still not certain what career I will pursue, I gained something far more meaningful. 我对自己的目的有了更清晰的认识. The experience made me realize that I want to foster a workplace environment where everyone feels respected and valued and eager to go to work in the morning.
所以本着节日的精神, 我不仅要感谢我的祖父, 鲍比, 谢谢你给了我一个千载难逢的实习机会, but also the Barry-Wehmiller team members for exposing me to a people-centric work environment. I will take that experience with me wherever my career path leads and do what I can to create that kind of environment with my generation of team members.
如果每个人都能像我在那几个星期一样，在工作中感受到感激, 推荐全球十大博彩公司排行榜将生活在一个完全不同的世界.