Derrick Freeman (baseball) and Madsy Richards (volleyball) are gearing up for their senior seasons on their respective playing fields, but the duo is also taking the final summer before they graduate to gain some real world experience. They supply chain management majors are both in Seattle interning for Boeing.
 
How did you end up with an internship in Seattle – all the way from St. Louis?
DF: During my freshman year at UMSL I applied for the Boeing Future Leaders in Thought and Experience (FLITE) Program. This is a 10-week summer internship program Boeing designed specifically for business students after their freshman year of college. Three students are selected from UMSL, SLU, Truman State and Howard University every year. I was fortunate enough to be one of the applicants selected from my class and I have be interning with Boeing every summer since.
 
During the first internship through the FLITE program it is required to work at Boeing's St. Louis site, but for the internships that followed I was allowed to select site and job preferences. The last couple summers I used the opportunity to get away from home by going to Seattle during the summer of 2017, Charleston summer of 2018, and now back to Seattle for this summer. Each time doing a different job role within supplier management.
 
MR: I had an internship last summer at Amsted Rail which was just across the river in Granite City, IL. Although it was my first summer away from my home in Iowa, I was still in a city I was pretty familiar with due to attending school in St. Louis for the past 9 months. This summer, I really wanted to challenge myself and explore options outside of the Midwest.
 
During the fall semester, my finance professor brought in a guest speaker from Boeing to discuss internship opportunities the company has to offer for students. I was intrigued with the plethora of opportunities the company had to offer and in so many different locations as well. I attended the UMSL Career Fair a few weeks later and spoke with some Boeing representatives and gave them my resume. After stating I was interested in Project Management they told me they were looking to fill an intern position in Project Management at the Seattle location. I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to experience life outside the Midwest for a short period of time to see if I could see myself living in a different region of the United States once I graduate. The three-month internship in Seattle has given me a glimpse of what it would look like to have a full-time job in a new city away from what I am familiar with.
 
How does living on the west coast differ than the Midwest?
DF: The first thing I have to talk about is the weather. Summer here is a lot milder than summer back home to say the least. It's almost July and the forecast today is a high of 75° and a low of 55°. Last week the locals were complaining about it being hot when it was 85° with a breeze coming off the lakes. Being so close to water all the time is also different from back home. There are a lot more lakes and rivers in the area. The Puget Sound is also very close to the Cascade Mountain Range so it is also a lot hillier here as well. Many of the roads in the city are very steep and there are a countless amount of hikes within an hour of downtown.
 
MR: The west coast scenery is completely different from the Midwest. I finally understand why people would always say the Midwest is extremely flat and boring to drive through. Washington is known as the evergreen state. There are evergreens everywhere. It is also much hillier here than I thought it would be which makes the evergreens even more prominent. It is also different to be surrounded by mountains. Every day on my way home from work I get a clear view of Mt. Rainer and it is absolutely beautiful! I am also shocked at the fact the sun rises at 5AM and does not set until 9PM. St. Louis summers are known to be quite humid, I would say the average temperature here is about 80 degrees.
 
Living on the Puget Sound has been quite a change. I am constantly seeing fisherman coming in and out to dock their boats and there are always people sailing out on the water.  There are also multiple shipping ports that I drive by and it's pretty neat to see the shipping containers and large cargo ships that travel all around the world.
 
One weekend I was following my phone GPS while driving to the Olympic Peninsula. My GPS told me to turn right, but the only thing to my right was a large body of water. That was when I realized my phone was directing me to put my car on a ferry that would taxi me across the water. Apparently this is a common thing to do, but that certainly does not happen in St. Louis!
 
Describe a typical day during your internship?
DF: My days this summer are starting pretty early, my hours are 5 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. I am on a 737 fulfillment team working on lean manufacturing techniques so we work directly with the engineers and mechanics on the first shift of the factory. First shift starts at 5 a.m. so that's also when we get here. As far as what I do every day it varies. Some days I spend most of my time at my desk working on my personal project while other days I am in my highlighter vest and safety goggles walking around the factory floor learning more about my teams role in production. I help with the day to day tasks of my team as well when assistance is needed. I also do informational interviews with employees outside of my team in other job roles that interest me within the company. Boeing has various events set up for interns throughout the summer too. Some examples of these are factory tours, executive guest speakers, and intern specific training events.
 
MR: My internship is in Project Management for Boeing Global Services. Since I am working in Boeing Global Services, I am mostly involved with the services provided to customers after they have purchased and received their airplanes. For example, if an airplane part breaks, we are responsible for getting a replacement part to the customer within a certain amount of time so the plane can be up and operating as fast possible.
 
What projects or activities have you enjoyed (or looking forward to) with your internship?
DF: We are limited in how much we can share but my main project this summer has to do with the accountability of parts and tools in the factory. It is keeping me busy and gets me moving around the factory a lot so I am enjoying it so far.
 
MR: One project that I have greatly enjoyed being part of is implementing a new business plan for a customer. Through this project, I have been able to see how a project is implemented from the very beginning all the way up until the Go-Live date. It has shown me the full project scope and all of the essential business operations that go into fulfilling customer's needs. One component to Project Management that I greatly enjoy is the fact that this position is very customer facing. A few weeks ago, the customers actually came to our facilities to discuss the final project plan. I gained a lot from attending the meetings and witnessing my team members interact with the customer.
 
 
What are you missing about St. Louis?
DF: For sure my family and friends the most. As much as I enjoy traveling and getting away for a little bit I always find myself missing the people back home. I'm also upset I wasn't in town to see the Blues win the Stanley Cup and bring a championship back to the city. It was an exciting time for St. Louis as a whole that I wish I could have been there to experience. On top of that Albert Pujols is coming back to town to play this summer for the first time since leaving the Cardinals in 2011. He was my favorite player growing up like most baseball players from the St. Louis area so his return is going to be another special sports moment that I wish I could be at.

MR: One thing I am missing about St. Louis is the fact that I was in Seattle when the Blues won the Stanley Cup! It looked like the city really came to together to support the Blues and the parade downtown looked like a fun way to recognize the team, especially after being the worst team in the league at one point in the season!
 
What are some of the biggest lessons you are learning during this internship?
DF: Other than the overall work experience I'm getting the biggest take away I've gotten from this internship is that you have to take ownership of your own career. At a big company like this it is easy to get lost in the shuffle or blend in. You can get away with doing the bare minimum because no one is watching over you constantly. If you want to make that next step in your career or get that promotion you need to take the initiative on your own. There's a lot of room for growth in the supplier management department here and at most other companies. The people who are contributing to this growth are the ones who go on to become managers, vice presidents, and executives. The ones who are just doing what they need to do to get by don't. This is some career advice I've gotten that has stuck with me.
 
MR: One of my biggest takeaways from this summer is getting the opportunity to take what I am learning in my classes and apply it to real world projects. The internship has allowed me to work on active projects for Boeing and it has enabled me to fully understand all of the business operations that go behind the execution of new projects. I am gaining experience that is preparing me to enter into a full-time position once I graduate. One piece of advice I would give to other students is to get as much exposure to their field of study while they are still in school. Whether it be through informational interviews, job shadowing, or internships. You learn a lot in the class room, but actually going out and applying the material is when you are truly tested and challenged.
 
How much interaction do you both have with each other? Is it nice to have a familiar face there?
DF: Madsy and I don't work in the same building so we don't see each other during the week past the intern events. We don't live far from each other though so we can get together to do hikes and tourist stuff on weekends. It is nice to have a familiar face here, especially during that first couple weeks of the summer while getting to know the other interns. Now we've become well acquainted with the other interns and have a good group to hang out with over the summer.
 
MR: Unfortunately, Derrick and I do not work at the same location. Boeing has multiple locations throughout the Seattle area, so we are about a 15 minute drive from each other. We definitely find time to meet up outside of work to explore Seattle, go hiking, and hang out! It is so nice to have one familiar face out here in Seattle.