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Introduction
Each summer, Bushel hires a number of interns for different roles throughout the company. These folks are a critical part of our team. Some stay on for longer careers, while others use this experience to help them in their next career move. My name is Lindsey Gerhold, and I am the summer 2022 Marketing Intern for Bushel. I wanted to share a bit about my experiences along with some of the other interns who spent the summer with Bushel. My experience has been extraordinary. I came in with expectations but Bushel went above and beyond them. All my schooling led me to this point, but didn’t prepare me for all the wonderful things I would learn on the job. I learned how to be a part of a marketing team. There were a variety of responsibilities I had, such as scheduling social posts, being a part of the different marketing campaigns, writing blogs, updating old case studies and much more. Additionally, I was here just in time to help plan and be a part of the 2022 Bushel Customer Conference. This taught me the importance of company-wide collaboration and communication- something that wasn’t stressed in school.
I was one of seven interns at Bushel this summer and chatted with the other interns to check in with their experiences. After speaking with them, it became clear that we all had positive experiences. We all learned things beyond the classroom setting and gained more insight on what to expect at our future careers. Additionally, I can confidently say that Bushel has positively impacted all of our education and helped us grow for our future careers.
Overall Experience
Bushel puts great emphasis on their cultural values of courage, heart, and team.
- Courage is seen as being bold, curious, and optimistic.
- Heart is strong, empathetic, and genuine. collaboration and community.
- Team contains camaraderie, humility, accountability, gratitude, humor, hard work, fun, and selflessness.
The culture at Bushel stands out from others. Everyone makes an effort to get to know you, no matter the position you hold. There is not one time where you are seen as not equal to those around you and above you. A few of my fellow interns mentioned how the people you’re surrounded by at work care about getting to know you outside of Bushel. This is one of the many reasons Bushel is so special. People genuinely care about your life at work and out of work, and you don’t get that everywhere.
“If you’re looking for a place to work where there’s no social hierarchy, it’s here. You feel seen and valued,” Hannah Nelson, Marketing Design Intern said.
“It feels good to be seen as a person outside of a worker as well,” Greg Saville, Software Engineering Intern said.
Onboarding
Bushel holds a two day orientation class for new hires called Bushel University. During this time, you get to learn about each part of the company and how they all relate. Throughout the two-day period, each department visits the new hires in order to get them familiar with their team- who is on the team and their roles. Getting the chance to learn about the company in depth before starting, really helped all us interns in understanding the larger picture of our work.
“Bushel University has been my favorite memory so far. It was really nice to dig into the company and be shown everything—to really see the process and understand,” Jared Lanoue, Software Engineering Intern said.
Mentorship Involvement and Learnings
Each intern is assigned a mentor to provide support and guidance. For many, 1:1 mentor-to-intern meetings happen weekly to go over any assignments, struggles and growth. Your mentor isn’t someone who will be hovering over your shoulder, but respecting that you are an adult and will get your work done. Whether work is done right or wrong, it’s a learning experience in the eyes of Bushel.
When asked about the difference of Bushel to other internship programs, Suleka Abdi, IT Intern’s response was: “My manager’s involvement with my growth.”
“They trust you and expect more out of you. They don’t hold your hand. Because of this, you have the freedom to grow,” Hannah said.
“The internship is sort of geared as you’re teaching yourself but always have a mentor to answer questions. You always feel this sort of accomplishment when you complete something yourself. But then you don’t feel too overwhelmed if you aren’t able to complete something because you know you can always ask a question.” – Kavin Chaisawangwong, Software Engineering Intern.
“They have helped me grow in every facet of my life so far,” Greg said.
When we asked the Bushel Interns if they would recommend the program to friends and family, this is what we heard:
“Yes, highly. It’s an awesome place to be. I’ve had a lot more fun than my friends at their internship.” – Greg Saville
“I would for sure recommend Bushel.” – Hannah Nelson
“Yes definitely. This internship has been a very positive experience. I have nothing bad to say about Bushel.” – Jared Lanoue
And my personal answer, of course! Bushel not only will leave an impression on my education, but my heart as well. This summer has been packed with nothing but positivity and growth!
