This summer I ventured into a world of finance and business. I had the pleasure of being placed in the Winco Corporate Office in Boise, Idaho.

Having spent most of my life in a school environment, it has been a quite the change working in the corporate world. The office is quiet, some people are social, others aren’t. Discussions are about financial reports instead of student behaviors. It couldn’t be anymore different than what I am used to. And yet, I am getting insight that I can use in my classroom in the years to come.

As a large organization, the central office of Winco has many departments. For my main task, I spend time interviewing employees to learn how their departments processes work. For example, one department I documented was payroll. I sat with different payroll clerks throughout a two-week period so that I could take notes on the process from when payroll is submitted from all the store managers to the point that paychecks are sent out. My documentation will help the company so that they have a documented process to show their auditors. The document is also used by upper management to look for any steps in the process where they could make more efficient. This process helps me because it is a great way for me to learn exactly how a corporation functions from the top down.

My second task has been working with the financial analysis team. My cubicle is grouped with a team of 3 financial analysts. These 3 have projects in which they analyze and present data in a way to help administrators make profitable decisions. One tool they use is a computer programming language called “R”, to organize and visualize their datasets. I have been learning how to use the program and have even been given a small project of my own. Fortunately, this team is very supportive and collaborative, and it has been awesome working with them.

Overall, I am very grateful for this opportunity to branch out from the education world and have a meaningful experience while doing so.