Week 16 (September 26 – October 2)
Monday morning couldn’t have started in a better way! I log into my Outlook account at work to discover that I have been awarded a bronze medal for ‘Above and Beyond’ achievement for my efforts on a recent international proposal. I am certain that this cannot be correct, especially since it comes with a generous monetary award. However, after much checking and re-checking it turns out that I am indeed the correct recipient of that e-mail. What’s more, later that day, I’m recognized during a quarterly awards ceremony. Not bad at all!
But the week is not all celebrations and awards, I do have some work to do! I start out by submitting some Excel charts I put together that track the 10-year, 5-year and year-to-date currency averages of the Australian dollar as it compares to the U.S. Dollar to a Senior Financial Analyst in my department. I, admittedly, stumbled a bit with the assignment but am happy to have learned and discovered some new GE internal sites like the Treasury page in the process.
I also submit a matrix I put together to track the results of a recent PM Council brainstorming session. I track all of the comments that were made, the level of importance assigned to each comment during the session and distribute my records to the head of the PM Council. I hope that my efforts will help the Council along their route to implementing all of their initiatives.
I also meet with a couple of individuals who work with International Trade Compliance (ITC) issues to sort out a notification I got regarding a suspended DSP-5 License for Australia and Malaysia. While the license doesn’t expire until February 2012, it is essential that we start the renewal process early since getting licenses passed through the government can take upwards of two months.
Tuesday I volunteer as a representative at ‘GE Day’ at Northeastern University. The goal of the event is to bring several GE businesses together to promote their co-op opportunities and leadership development programs. It was an amazing networking opportunity for me and I was able to make some solid connections with other businesses in GE. In fact, through my chats with representatives from GE Capital and GE Aviation, I realized that there was an untapped potential to further align GE's need for corporate residents and full-time employees with the Full-Time MBA program at my school. After some positive response from the GE representatives across several businesses, I promise to send out an e-mail and get an open communication stream going on the topic.
Back at work on Wednesday, I send in my draft of the poster I designed for the PM Council. I should be getting a full-scale mock-up back soon. How exciting!
This is just in time for my meeting with the PM Council, where the sub-team leader I am working with does a dry-run presentation of what he plans to present to the General Manager tomorrow. Now that the posters are done, I have to move on to the next items on the PM Council's ‘Go-Do’ action item list which will involve further exposure to new employees at GE (which I love!).
I am also nearly done with the PBL contract matrix I have been working on for the finance department. After adding a few new contracts, a tab for government support and continuously getting in new documents I am happy to say that I am almost there! The Financial Analyst I have been working with for this project also requested that I create a manual for future co-ops on how to use this reference guide and edit it accordingly. It will eventually be going on our internal ‘Support Central’ site for all of my department to use. How neat!
That evening I get an e-mail from Northeastern University formally announcing the Class of 2013 bloggers! Three girls will be taking over my role as a first-year correspondent. Make sure to check them out at: http://www.cba.neu.edu/grad/fulltime-mba/students/blogs/
In my inbox is also a lovely update from my Executive Mentor. He checks in and asks how I have been doing during the past month. I give him the run-down of some of the great news I’ve had recently and we agree to plan our next meeting for later in October.
I also am proud to say I have booked my first Groupon! I will be enjoying a dinner cruise on The Spirit of Boston later this month in celebration of my friend's birthday. Dinner, drinks and views of the Boston skyline at 50% off? Yes please!
Thursday I get to sit in on a great PM council meeting run by the Lynn Turbofan and Turbojet General Manager and all of the PM Council leaders. The session provides a great overview of the company and some key areas for improvement. It really helps to put in perspective the work I’ve been doing with the PM Council and how, even the small initiatives I’m helping with, can have a major impact on the performance of the division.
Thursday night in my Market Research class our initial problem statement and company background is due as part of our semester-long consulting project. My team and I will be conducting our market research project for a teammate's co-op employer: The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). We will be helping them determine how to better utilize their social media outlets to meet their customers needs.
Feeling particularly excited about social media I decide it is time to set up a *gasp* Twitter account. Now, keep in mind that prior to this I have never even been on Twitter, let alone “tweeted” but I figure I really enjoy blogging, so the next logical step seemed to be to sign over my life to the little blue bird. Follow my handle at @KatrinaGraves for more up-to-the-minute enlightenment about my life as a Northeastern MBA. If you want to comment about something you saw in the blog, please use the hashtag #LivingtheNortheasternMBA.You can even link directly to it from the snazzy Twitter button I've added on the upper-right hand corner of this page. Look at me being all techno.
With the permission of my boss, I throw in the towel early Friday afternoon and head for a weekend in Montreal with my boyfriend! He is there on an extended business trip and I would be remiss not to take advantage of the fact that he’s only a 5 ½ hour drive away! That morning I’m up at 4:45am to pick up my rental car at the airport and still make it into work before 8:00am.
Unfortunately, the high of my approaching trip across the border is dampened a bit by an e-mail stating that all Green Belt Six Sigma classes at GE have been cancelled through the rest of the year! Ugh! I was SO looking forward to it! Well, I’m certainly not going to let it go that easily. I make a note to start sending out e-mails and searching for alternative ways to complete the course and receive my certification. Cross your fingers that a solution will present itself.
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| Kind of excited for my poutine |
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| Notre-Dame Basilica |
That night it’s off to Les 3 Brasseurs for a steaming pot of Provencal mussels, frites and beer spiked with maple liqeur. Love it! And what would a trip to a french-inspired city be without some dessert crepes. Of course, I order up the most grotesquely huge version they have piled high with strawberries, cheesecake filling and ice cream.
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| Biosphere |
I don’t make it home to Boston until late that night but it was well worth it for such a fun taste of a new, international city with my lovely boyfriend.
*The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of GE Aviation, Northeastern University, their staff, employees or affiliates.
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