Last night I stayed up until around 11:30 picking out my outfit, packing my lunch, and getting all of my materials together. The most nerve racking part about this internship was not being prepared, and going in without really any racing knowledge at all. I am not a racing fan, so I spent yesterday trying to study up on racing details just so I would be able to keep up with what people were talking about around the office.
So, this morning I woke up around 5:45. Reason number one being that I was really nervous, and number two being that I wanted to get to Starbucks so I could do a little more research before I had to arrive at work at 8:00 (I don’t have internet in my apartment until later this week). So I put on my tangerine blouse, kacki penicl skirt, and nude heels and hit the road. I got to work around 7:45, and Jonathan Gibson (my boss) came and got me around 8:10. We went back to his office where he gave me the low-down of what was going to happen this summer.
Since there is the Indy 500 this coming weekend, and the office is just crazy, Jonathan said that I would be working in the merchandising and apparel department (aka the gift shop) this week. After this week, I’ll get my own office and I’ll move into “carpet-land” (aka business stuff). From there, I will spend time with Marketing, Branding, Licensing, Hospitality, Sponsors, and Public Relations. They want me to get a broad spectrum of the business, so I’m going to be with pretty much every department except building the car haha.
After the synopsis of my summer, Jonathan toured me around the facility to see all the departments, and introduced me into a bundle of employees. That part I really enjoyed, because everyone seemed so nice, and super personable. I could tell they all wanted to help me learn all I can.
So after the tour, I headed to the gift shop where I hung out with April and Mrs. Cathie and they just showed me basics of the merchandising part of Penske. Then April took me back to the warehouse where we packed, moved, and shipped merchandise to the driver’s trailers, and various internet orders. This part of the day was especially difficult given I was still in my pencil skirt and heels haha. By the time lunch came around, I was ready to saw off my feet. April and Mrs. Cathie told me that I could go home and change during my hour lunch break, so I was all over that haha.
So I rushed home and scarfed down some lunch, and changed into a button down, jeans, and tennis shoes. When I asked Mrs. Cathie if jeans were alright to wear, she said ok, so that was definitely the go-to after the morning my feet had haha. So I got back early, and went straight back to work! April had me doing all kinds of things, especially now that I could move quicker haha. But on our walk back over to the warehouse she said that jeans weren’t allowed, soI told her I asked Mrs. Cathie, and April quickly told me that Mrs. Cathie is deaf in one ear, so she will sometimes just say ok to things she can’t hear. Hahaha! What are the chances?
Anyway, for the rest of the day I worked the desk in the gift shop, I restocked the floor, labeled clothes, and greeted all our race-fan customers! I also got to spend some quality time with Mrs. Cathie and April, which was really nice. They are both really smart, and they have a lot of experience with Penske.
All in all, this was a long, hard day full of new people, knowledge, and experiences. I just hope the following days get a little bit more comfortable, and hopefully I will make some new friends!
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