A Day in The Life of An Intern: Evan Butler in Foxboro

January 9, 2019 admin Life @ Schneider Blog

Credit to Author: Employee Voices| Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2019 05:00:55 +0000

Evan Butler is a Global Marketing Graduate Trainee and Intern at Schneider Electric’s Foxboro Hub. He currently is a senior at Bryant University, pursuing a degree in Marketing with a minor in Legal Studies. In below blog article he shares what it is like to be a Global Marketing Graduate Trainee in the Foxboro office.

Funky socks

It’s 9 am as I walk into Cohasset for another day at SE. I walk up the bright green staircase to the second floor, where I enter Global Marketing and say good morning to my director Rudy. Down a bright blue hallway, I begin to make my way to my desk.

I walk past the design team. About 20 iMacs, all filled with young talented designers who look a little bit older than me. I can see one guy wearing a hoodie and a Supreme snapback with his headphones in, grinding away. A young woman across from him has her incredibly detailed sketches pinned up on her work station. I like walking this way because the environment is so energizing to be around. My last internship was in Financial Services, and I was used to wearing a navy blue three-piece suit with a white and pink striped button down with an emerald green tie that pulled the whole thing together. I called it my JP Morgan look. I’ve since started wearing no tie with a sweater and feels empowering to have a relaxed culture that allows me to express myself by wearing bright sweaters and funky socks.

Different way of life

The summer going into this internship, I went on a trip to Peru with my Dad. One morning we drove from Cuzco to the Peru Rail and took a train to the base of Machu Picchu within the Andes mountain range before hiking it. Departing in the cold, wee hours of the morning, we rode the train for hours. My Dad asleep with his headphones in, my face pressed up against the window, determined to not miss a thing.

I can remember seeing so many homes constructed out of cinder blocks and tin roofs with open windows. I was struck by the different way of life. And as an American who just lost his dog last winter, it really hurt me to see so many stray, scrappy, starving looking dogs with over grown matted fur, picking through trash on the streets of Cuzco. Even the dogs are resilient and strong here. I met a friend, Wilfredo, I called him Willy. Willy told me all about growing up in the Andes, with no formal education, he spent his formative years farming and tending to livestock. As a young man, he dropped everything and moved to Cuzco to start his own tourism company. He now supports his wife, three kids, and his sister’s family.

Why statement

I returned from Peru days before my interview with Schneider, I knew how critical it was for me to convey my ‘Why’ statement. Even if it was only for a few days out of my trip, I saw firsthand how important universal access to energy is. Access to energy is certainly something I’ve taken for granted living in the US. In Peru, it became profoundly clear to me that I needed to get this internship. I needed to be a part of an organization that is committed to sustainability. I knew I belonged with a global leader in energy management and automation that bring innovation to their hospitals and the latest water and waste water solutions to their communities.

Life Is On

Its 9:07 and I’m just getting to my work station. My neighbor Joey left a piping hot cup or tea on my desk. Grabbing our first two cups of tea is a morning ritual I enjoy, but today Joey beat me to it. As I take my first sips of tea, I open my Outlook to preview the morning. We have a 9:30 call with the interns in China, at 10:00, I have a brief for a new project and at 11am I am presenting a communication plan to an EVP, all before lunch.

Things work kind of differently here at Schneider Electric. Maybe it’s because the company is French owned. Or maybe it’s because there are so many younger people working here. Or maybe it’s just everybody here is on the same page. A company with over 100,000 employees, creates an infectious global synergy that is dedicated to developing sustainability and ensuring Life is On.