Jolei, former intern for Integrity Fencing over the past two summers, has returned to the company after her college graduation! Integrity Fencing is happy to have her on board and looks forward to what she can add to the business operations after graduating from business school.
Read our first intern spotlight on Jolei.
Read our second intern spotlight on Jolei.
Let’s hear from Jolei about her new position . . .
You recently graduated from Babson College in Massachusetts. As you reflect on your time in business school, what lessons would you say resonated the most?
I think that three lessons stand out to me from my time in school:
- Create a team around you that you trust, and whose strengths help your weaknesses
- Reflection and self-awareness are the biggest aspects of leadership and without them leaders usually fall short
- Every problem has a solution, you just might need the right team. Take a deep breath and come back to it after ten minutes.
Obviously, I could list hundreds of lessons that I learned, but I feel that these three really encapsulate the big lessons that I let rule my decisions in business. Having a strong team, being a reflective leader, and realizing that sometimes putting something down for a few minutes does more than banging your head on your desk trying to figure it out. These lessons certainly guide my experiences.
Do you have your sights on any particular career path?
I will be working at Walt Disney World starting in August and I am hoping to find a place to grow at the company. I have always been very passionate about marketing and operations, so I see my career in the long-term going down either of those paths. I would eventually like to start my own business, but that idea is still brewing (I’ll let you all know when that changes)!
You’re returned to Integrity Fencing for the third year. What made you want to continue to work there?
One thing that Integrity has always allowed me to do is have hands on experience and the ability to really see how my work impacts the organization. At larger companies, interns usually don’t have the opportunity to do many tasks that have a large impact on the company. I have been fortunate to have this experience where I have been able to make such an impact.
It sounds like you are tasked with big projects this time around. What will you be tackling?
I have a few large projects this summer: Overhauling inventory, Colorado Green Business Network and subsequent sustainability projects, and the implementation of a new AI system. I have some little projects going on too, but these are my main focus. While these are definitely a large undertaking and require a lot of time and effort to do correctly, I am excited to see how they can help Integrity in the long run.
Shawn mentioned that the company is working on a grant application for an energy certification with the Colorado Green Business Network, tell us about that.
When Shawn told me that Integrity was making moves to become more sustainable, I was excited to jump on the project due to my experience from Babson in sustainability. The Colorado Green Business Network allows us to get points for being a sustainable business in the community as well as connect with other local businesses to make a larger impact. This network also has connected us to incredible resources for grants that can help us be more sustainable. These grants can help us do things like get motion activated light switches to minimize our energy consumption, replace our thermostats to make them more energy efficient, get EV cars and a charging station to begin the transition to all EVs for company vehicles, and many more. Another huge part of these grants that we are excited to apply for is to get a grinder that would allow us to make the replaced fence waste into mulch and repurpose it rather than send entire fences to the landfill. We are all very excited about this move toward sustainability and I am honored to be spearheading the process.
What’s this we hear about a new AI chatbot coming to the Integrity Fencing website? What functionality will AI offer to website visitors?
The AI chatbot that is coming to our website will allow customers to connect with a personally trained AI chatbot for Integrity. What that means is that it is a private AI (not open like ChatGPT), and we are feeding it information from Integrity. So, if customers have a question that they want answered immediately, instead of having to call, they can ask the chat bot, and it can help them. It is also going to begin a call/text back system for people who submit a form for estimates. This will allow us to get people scheduled for estimates in the most efficient way for both Integrity and the customer.
What would you tell someone who is thinking about building a fence or deck this summer? We heard Integrity beat the tariffs and secured inventory . . .
I would say that there is no time like the present! Integrity is also a supply company, which means that we don’t purchase materials for jobs individually from retailers, but rather hold our own inventory. In terms of the tariffs and other economic factors, this means that we have secured inventory prior to the implementation of the tariffs. So long story short, Integrity has prices that will be unbeatable! It is always intimidating when it isn’t clear what the future holds with the economy, but Integrity has secured tariff free prices to help mitigate those fears.