This internship experience has been incredible. For students planning to intern in the future… TALK TO PEOPLE. Ask to attend meetings, come up with ideas that will benefit your department or the company overall, be innovative! I have learned so much and have made so many wonderful connections.  Overall, my projects included LOTS of resume screening, coordination of the 40th Anniversary Drone Photo and Annual Company Picnic, creation of a “40 Years of Innovation” timeline, various benefit and payroll tasks, and facilitation of the “Engaging with REHAU on LinkedIn” workshop.  I helped hire the Marketing Coordinator, wrote and edited job postings, and learned a lot about employee recruitment, organizational development, and employee engagement.

As for the marketing side of my internship, my research mainly focused on hydroponic agriculture.  REHAU manufactures channels for Nutrient Film Technology (NFT).  I researched nutrient content of hydroponic leafy greens, compared hydroponic and soil-based agriculture, conducted business case comparisons of our competitors, and researched potential tradeshows for our products.  Additionally, I visited CEA Farms in Purcellville, VA (about 5 minutes away from my house!).  This farm is family-owned and sells hydroponically-grown tomatoes, lettuce, and other vegetables to places such as The National Convention Center!  It was amazing to see everything I had been researching in action.

As my internship comes to a close, I think about my future career and how this experience has shaped my mindset.  I have always been passionate about leadership, and after working closely with Heather Mason and learning about organizational development (OD) and industrial/organizational psychology (I/O), I think this is a career path I would like to pursue! I want to facilitate workshops, give trainings, and develop leadership and management programs.  This combines my passion for leadership, public speaking, and utilizes my extroverted and outgoing nature.  Whether my path leads me to higher education, a corporate environment, or working for a non-profit, I hope to unite my passions and my career.

Life as an intern at REHAU is really fun! Aside from learning about employee recruitment, payroll, benefits, training and development, and employee relations, I get to hear about projects within other departments from the eight other interns.  We have all become very close! We eat lunch together every day, talk frequently in our group chat and Snapchat group, and have also planned a Kings Dominion trip for this weekend!

Last month, we celebrated our 40th Anniversary of the Leesburg HQ with the annual company picnic.  The interns and the Inspire Committee took the lead on planning this fun event. We celebrated International Yoga Day by taking a yoga class from Sue Martin in Communications and Erin Yates in HR.  Stacey Hunt in Operations coordinated 2 visits from the ice cream truck, and we have 2 food trucks coming in the next few weeks!

During lunch breaks, I either pack lunch or hop in the car with the other interns and go to Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, or — our favorite — Costco for free samples and frozen yogurt.  This experience has been very enjoyable so far and I’ve learned that it’s not so bad wearing business casual every day… but casual Fridays are a must 🙂

Each morning at REHAU, I scan into the building, say hello to Yvette, our receptionist, and head to the HR wing.  I grab my morning coffee with my coworkers in the HR department and always make sure to say hi to Charlie, who works in IT (he’s awesome!).  In a typical day, I usually have a few meetings either in person or on the phone. I always eat with the other interns at 12:30 in one of our two favorite spots: the courtyard or in the REHAU academy one building over!

One of my current projects involves improving recruitment efforts for positions in marketing and sales, and reviewing what seems like HUNDREDS of resumes!  As part of the 40th anniversary of REHAU Leesburg, the interns worked with the Employee Engagement specialist and coordinated a drone picture with some of our employees! This picture will be going on the cake for our annual company picnic.

The “40 Years of Innovation” company picnic is another project I’ve been heavily involved with — sending out invitations, coordinating volunteers, meeting with caterers, creating amazing raffle baskets, and of course, preparing for the cornhole tournament (apparently it gets competitive :). I have been using skills I learned in my interpersonal communication class, leadership classes, Greek life, and even student council in high school to help with tasks throughout my internship thus far!

I’m a rising junior at CNU majoring in Psychology with minors in Leadership, Communication, and Dance. I’m from Lovettsville, VA, about 20 minutes away from REHAU, but 40 minutes with morning traffic! With help from the CCP, I modified my resume and spent many hours researching what I wanted to do this summer. I ended up finding this internship on Handshake. I’ve already learned so much and I can’t wait to continue to share this experience!  

REHAU products are everywhere—from windows to geothermal technology to ski jump systems.  Fun fact: Both Allianz Arena (home of FC Bayern Munich) and Mile High Stadium (home of the Denver Broncos) have REHAU turf conditioning systems!  In my first two weeks as a Human Resources and Marketing Intern at the REHAU Americas Headquarters in Leesburg, VA, I’ve learned about recruitment, employee engagement, leadership training, and resume screening.  I even came up with a solution for the intranet platform for REHAU Mexico!

Human Resources and Marketing Intern, REHAU