Meet Kevin!

Name: Kevin Gonzalez  

Intern Title: Application Development Intern  

College: Christian Brothers University

Company: American Home Shield  

Tell the readers a little bit about yourself.

I am a first-generation college student here in the United States – senior at Christian Brothers University. Currently in the process of receiving a Computer Science degree with a double minor in Management Information Systems and Mathematics. Aside from school, I enjoy flying drones, I enjoy this so much that I am an FAA certified UAV pilot. I also enjoy playing Fortnite with the other interns, ping pong, and writing trap/rap lyrics – be on the lookout for my mixtape, it’s going to be fire.

Can you talk a little bit about the steps you took to land this internship?

I applied on the website, where I had multiple interviews until I finally got the good news.

What attracted you to ServiceMaster? 

Aside from Service Master being a Fortune 1000 company, I wanted to intern at a huge company before I graduated from college. I find the experience that I have gained from my team to be invaluable. I have learned new technology such as Web APIs, languages like C#/.NET, methodologies like Agile.

Could you describe what a typical day was like for you as an intern?

Arrive at HQ around 8:30-9, fill my bottle with water, get a cup of black coffee, open up my laptop and start working on software. We use a ticketing system called Jira where I can see all the work that I have under my name that I must complete within a certain sprint (deadline). Around lunch time I play a game or two of ping pong, get back to work, and leave for the day. My mentor that was assigned by my business manager tells me not to worry about completion of a certain task but to take time and understand what I am doing – here’s your shout out Hari, knowledge is key.

What is one word you would use to describe your workplace environment? 

Focused.

What advice do you have for someone who is just starting to look for an internship?

Don’t be afraid of change. Since software is constantly changing, I was worried that I would not be up to par with the way my team is programming, within a short period of time, I was finishing Jira tickets for my team. For my software engineers looking to get an internship in programming, go for it.. just do it, you don’t know what’s behind the curtain. Change can be good.

Most memorable moment?

I led stand-up meetings for a week because our project manager was out on vacation, this was fun. Aside from that, all of the personality tests we have taken were really beneficial too.

What skills did you learn this summer?

Agile, C#/.NET, TFS, Linq2Db, PL/SQL, and how to debug code.

Meet Zach!

Name: Zachary Khan

Intern Title: Financial Analyst

College: The University of Mississippi

Company: American Home Shield  

Tell the readers a little bit about yourself.

I am a Finance and Real Estate double major with a manufacturing engineering minor at Ole Miss where I will be a senior in the fall. I am born and raised in Memphis, TN.

Can you talk a little bit about the steps you took to land this internship?

I got into contact with interns from the previous summer and I began contacting talent acquisition personnel here.

What attracted you to ServiceMaster? 

I wanted to work for an established brand that was also a publicly traded company. I heard great reviews of the internship program so ServiceMaster seemed like an awesome fit for me.

What was your first impression of the new building? 

I was extremely impressed by headquarters. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out how helpful my team was for me on day one.

Could you describe what a typical day was like for you as an intern?

I come into work and check my email for any important information. I then continue work from the previous day if I had not finished or continue onto new projects. I have daily tasks but I also must find time to work on my main summer long project.

What is one word you would use to describe your workplace environment? 

Inclusive.

What advice do you have for someone who is just starting to look for an internship?

I would say to get in contact with friends or colleagues that have recently completed internships. It is all about the hustle and effort.

What is you dream job? 

My dream job would be to work for a professional sports team or organization in either business strategy or business development. My main passion has always been sports so it would be amazing to apply my business skills to sports.

Most memorable moment?

The most memorable moment for me has been all the opportunities to hang out with my mentor and current employees. It is awesome to be able to have very business/goals oriented conversations but also be able to joke around.

What skills did you learn this summer?

I learned a lot of soft skills and new software. In particular, Microsoft Power Bi is a great analytics tool I have learned this summer.

Meet Reagan!

Name: Reagan Morris

Intern Title: Product Analytics

College: The University of Alabama

Company: Terminix

Tell the readers a little bit about yourself.

I grew up in the semi-small town of Athens, Alabama. I currently am a rising senior in Management Information Systems at The University of Alabama. This summer I have been spending my free time exploring the city, hanging out at the pool, and preparing things for my presidency of the UA chapter of Association for Information Systems.

Can you talk a little bit about the steps you took to land this internship?

I was lucky enough to have a friend tell me about ServiceMaster and submit my resume, from there I stayed in contact with everyone who reached out to me. It was a great process and I felt very aware of what was going on the whole time.

What attracted you to this company?

After hearing and reading about ServiceMaster, I was so interested. With the spin-off coming and the new building, it was obvious to me that ServiceMaster is not only open to change but constantly moving forward to better the company.

First impressions?

How nice everyone was. I wasn’t expecting terrible people, but corporate offices get a wrap for not being the friendliest. I don’t believe that at all. From the first day, I have been constantly greeted and asked how things were going from all levels of employees. My team is great and so willing to help.

Could you describe what a typical day was like for you as an intern?

My typical days starts with the Keurig. After that, no day has really been the same. I have enjoyed seeing all the processes and functions that go into making decisions.

Give us one word to describe your workplace environment:

Flexible.

 What advice do you have for someone who is just starting to look for an internship?

Start early, you don’t want the frustration of time leading your decisions.

What was the most challenging part?

Trying to remember everyone. Like I said, everyone is so nice but it was a little confusing to jump in and know everyone and what they do.

Most memorable moment?

So far, my most memorable moment was going to a Terminix Branch with the marketing team and calling customers. We did this to help the area branches while also helping us understand what all goes into our company processes.

What skills did you learn at your internship?

Be willing to adapt to change. If you have worked hard on a task and there is something that makes you have to redo it or change it, it’s not that big of a deal. If you can do it once, you can do it again.

Meet Nick!

Name: Nick Rocha

Position: Leadership Development Program Associate – Finance

College: Rhodes College

Company: ServiceMaster

Tell the readers a little bit about yourself.

I am a Memphis native. I grew up in Germantown and went to Christian Brothers High School. I enjoy backpacking, fishing, and aviation. I try to visit one National Park every year.

Can you talk a little about your internship and your current position?

I had the opportunity of having two internships at ServiceMaster. One at Terminix, as a Marketing Intern, and the second at American Home Shield with the Financial Planning and Analysis Team. I am currently a finance LDP with my first rotation in corporate FP&A.

What is your favorite part about living in Memphis?

Memphis is growing fast and I love being a part of that. Each month, there is something new and upcoming in Memphis such as restaurants, concerts, and social events. Also, I live downtown so walking everywhere is awesome.

What attracted you to ServiceMaster originally as an intern? What attracted you to stay?

I love the people and the corporate culture. My intern experience was incredible. Everyone I interacted with made sure my questions were answered or introduced me to someone who could. I interacted with high level management such as directors and vice presidents which shows that they value my time as well. I felt like my voice was heard. I felt comfortable with the company and took the fulltime job in a heartbeat.

What does a typical day look like for you?  

Rise and grind. Repeat.

What was your first impression of the new building? 

I have yet to figure out the stairway situation, and there are new walls being built every other day. Other than that, I love it.

What has been the most challenging part for you in the transition to a full-time employee? 

Trying to focus on work during the World Cup.

 What has been your most memorable moment during your time here?

Working and meeting with new people.

What is one word you would use to describe your workplace environment? 

Sensational.

Catching up with Stephanie!

It’s a little over half way for the rest of the summer interns, but I just crossed the week two mark. My last semester in Germany ran into June so I guess you could say I had a back-start here at ServiceMaster.

So far so good could pretty accurately sum up my time here so far, but I’ll still give you a few reasons why.

The first day I was greeted by a whole lot of introductions as I met the people that make up my department in American Home Shield Finance. Turns out the office ran out of cubicles so for the rest of the summer I get to park myself in a nice office I share with my pal Zach, another intern in the group.

My summer project is up and running. I’m analyzing state level cost changes over the recent quarters and I’m sure you aren’t finding this super thrilling so I’ll quit the finance talk. Anyway, I find it interesting which is what counts. And I’m learning new things everyday.

I got lucky with TWO bosses, both of whom are awesome. (Catlin, if you ever read this, this is your shout-out.)

I’m actually heading to a lunch with them in a few minutes—it’s a fun group.

There’s tons of great restaurants all in walking distance. One of the many perks of the new downtown office. Food Truck Thursday is also a plus with about 20 different rolling options right down the street at Court Square. Delish Desserts is the overwhelming group favorite.

All in all, it’s been an exciting first few weeks here at SVM-AHS. Don’t know if anything will top the front row view of the annual ServiceMaster Ping-Pong Tourney last Friday, but only time will tell.

Thanks for the read!

—Stephanie Barton