Name: Christelle Fayemi
Year: Junior
Major: Economics
Minor: Business Institutions, Environmental Policy and Culture
CFS Program: Business Field Studies
Employer: Mission Measurement
As recently as the beginning of junior year, I thought all work weeks were 40 hours long, with the occasional overtime. My mother is a consultant, and growing up I have seen her stay up late or wake up early countless times in order to finish a report. However, at the time it had not clicked for me until I started talking to young business analysts at career events that these were signs of a very challenging work-life balance. Throughout my Chicago Field Studies internship, I have gotten a better idea of what my ideal work-life balance is, as well as habits I need to maintain to stay productive and take care of myself.
My routine has changed significantly since I started working at Mission Measurement. I usually avoid taking classes that start earlier than 9:30am, but this quarter I have had to get up by 8am. Somewhat mysteriously, my eating habits have improved since I started working! Realizing that exercising makes me more focused and helps me sleep well made me more determined to use the Chicago Field Studies program as an opportunity to find my ideal work-life balance. This quarter, I have had to juggle not only my work at Mission Measurement, but my Chicago Field Studies seminar and extracurriculars as well. I am planning on going through fall recruitment for full-time consulting positions and have been attending events and networking with business analysts from various firms all quarter. Two weeks ago I attended four different career events, an 8 hour commitment, over the span of three days. My supervisor at Mission Measurement has been very flexible and understanding about this; that week she let me come in to the office two days and work remotely from campus on the third day.
Even though as an intern I do not have the workload of a full employee, using my supervisor as an example of what my work could be like has been helpful. This quarter, she has traveled for work twice, to opposite coasts of the United States. I also know that she does work at home, as she will often work with Excel workbooks or PowerPoint presentations I build out during the day, then email me updates the next morning. At Mission Measurement, I have been given short deadlines, because my supervisor can trust that I will complete the work by then. At no point during the internship have I been idle without work. Overall, I am very thankful for my experience at Mission Measurement. Since it is a small firm, it is easy to approach full-time consultants and ask them about their projects. Furthermore, being able to see the impact my work is having on clients and social justice issues has motivated me throughout the Chicago Field Studies program.