Within the ‘spirit’: IST intern grows tech, interpersonal abilities at Bacardi

(Editor’s notice: That is the eighth in a sequence of tales highlighting Faculty of Info Sciences and Know-how college students and their summer season internships {and professional} growth experiences.) 

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State senior Ella Maquito spent the summer season serving to a significant spirits model improve its international attain.  

As an data know-how intern at Bacardi, Maquito labored with the corporate’s model houses software program on the digital commerce crew to conduct person interface and person expertise testing. Her crew’s aim was to make sure the software program’s performance throughout a number of machine platforms and to confirm beauty adjustments. She additionally helped create a big content material matrix that lined all locations the place Bacardi merchandise are bought across the globe to establish information the place gaps existed. 

“The very best factor of this internship was the chance to work for a agency with a worldwide attain,” mentioned Maquito, who’s learning enterprise know-how integration. 

Maquito’s expertise with the worldwide scale began along with her working a hybrid schedule from the corporate’s Miami workplace, the place she and different interns from establishments world wide networked via comfortable hours and speaker sequence. Moreover, Maquito’s supervisors had been headquartered in Bermuda and London, whereas the initiatives she labored on had been carried out in Puerto Rico. 

“I used to be in a position to meet and interact with new people from many countries, and the expertise of connecting with them on an expert and cultural degree is one thing I yearn for in my private {and professional} growth,” she mentioned. “Additional, the main company ideas of ‘Fearless, Founder, and Household’ had been ingrained in me. I used to be in a position to flourish to train my very own entrepreneurial spirit and embrace an agile mentality, being comfy attempting new issues, and taking possibilities in an surroundings the place I’m inspired to query, problem and innovate.” 

Whereas Maquito strengthened her interpersonal abilities via these connections, she additionally additional developed technical abilities she’s been studying within the Faculty of IST — from core courses in IT venture administration, human-centered design and growth and knowledge and organizations, to coding courses and a deeper understanding of enterprise competency. 

“These courses have taught me and offered me with a stable foundational understanding of how the enterprise and know-how departments work together to ship options for higher technological effectivity inside an enterprise,” she mentioned. 

Additional, the school’s emphasis on project-based work, each individually and in teams, ready her for achievement within the internship. 

“This sort of setup in my courses has helped me work independently in addition to train crew collaboration abilities,” she mentioned. “Clear communication, venture pitching and robust time administration juggling three to 4 tasks at a time had been key abilities that helped me achieve success.”