What I liked
My summer internship at Pfizer far exceeded my expectations. When I first received my formal notification about my position, I did not have a clear understanding about the daily responsibilities within a procurement department. All I basically knew involving procurement was it would encompass the act of buying goods and services. I learned quickly about the nuances within Pfizer’s Global Procurement Department and its crucial role within this top Fortune 500 company.
I was extremely fortunate with my internship to have a supervisor who was willing to not only mentor me but who was also very willing to assign me more challenging tasks as the summer went on. I enjoyed working on longer and bigger assignments with increased budgets and importance.
Another enjoyable aspect of this internship was the ability to visit the corporate manufacturing headquarters of several vendors. We were allowed exclusive access to tour their factories plus meet with senior personnel. On a daily basis, I was also able to observe and interact with high performing industry leading executives. I loved the flexibility within my department to branch out and connect with other departments. As a result, I was able to build a vast network not only at Pfizer but at other pharmaceutical companies, healthcare startups and vendors including Waters, Perkins Elmer, WuXi and Thermo Fisher. The overall leadership experience gained during this internship was invaluable. These skills will be critical to my future career path at Gettysburg and beyond.
