Jolei is a summer intern for Integrity Fencing and she has big plans to help roll out new, more efficient processes while she’s here. A current college student at an east coast business school, Jolei is eager to receive hands-on experience in business operations. Shawn Beard, owner of Integrity Fencing, is thrilled to have Jolei on board this summer as he knows she will be helping to engineer new strategies she has learned while attending her highly regarded business school.
Let’s hear from Jolei about her internship . . .
Where are you attending college?
I’m attending college in Massachusetts at Babson College, which is a small business school. I’ll be a Junior this fall. I’m working on a degree in business administration with a focus on entrepreneurship and operations.
What kind of job do you hope to get once you graduate?
I would love to work in a small business and focus on operations and operations management. I would also love to own my own business someday.
What kinds of tasks will you be working on while at Integrity Fencing?
It’s a mix of tasks, I’m helping out anywhere I can, and I actually worked here last Christmas break when I was home from school. I worked on accounting tasks at that time. For this internship, a couple of specific projects I’m working on include an inventory system to better track inventory in the supply yard, and new estimating software. Currently the team has to wait to get back to the office to input all of the customer information they gathered upon the site visit (project dimensions, plot plan, materials) before they develop an estimate. Producing an estimate typically takes about two hours. The new estimating software will not only be available on a tablet, making it easy to use in the field, but it will also turn around an estimate in about 15 minutes. I’ll be training the staff on the software once we implement it.
What do you hope to learn during your internship?
I want to gain more hands on experience within a small businesses and learn what the operations entail. I hear a lot in school about what business operations will be like, but I’m excited to see it first hand and get my hands dirty by actually doing the tasks.
What do you like about working at Integrity Fencing so far?
There is good communication between the team members. As an intern, I’m obviously learning a lot as I go, but everyone is very patient and good at communicating with me. They encourage my learning. The team aspect at Integrity Fencing has been amazing to experience.
What would you want people to know about Integrity Fencing?
That everything here matters. Every single job is significant. Every job and customer is undertaken with care. The company is not like a big box operation in which the customers are treated like just a number and the staff are going through the motions. Everyone here cares and wants the company to do well.
