Name: Lena Fulkerson
Year: Senior
Major: Economics
Minor: Environmental Policy and Culture
CFS Class: Business Field Studies
Employer: HBR Consulting

When I began my CFS internship experience at HBR, I was a bit nervous and overwhelmed at all the new information and people I was meeting. I was unsure of what kind of internship experience I was going to have and how it would play out in a virtual environment. Looking back, I should not have been nervous at all. One aspect of the internship that I was particularly struck by was the coffee chats at HBR. I was encouraged by my supervisor to set a goal of having at least 1-2 coffee chats each week throughout my ten-week internship. Although I was excited about the prospect of getting to meet many people throughout the firm, I was also worried about some of my tasks aspects, such as reaching out to people superior to me and requesting time, as well as being able to fill the coffee chat time in a way that was also respectful to whomever I was talking with.

Through this task, I learned how to get over my fear of reaching out to relative strangers to ask to have a conversation. Everyone I spoke to was extremely welcoming and so open in sharing his or her advice and knowledge, and I feel like it helped me gain a better understanding of the company culture. This goal helped to push me out of my comfort zone and really make the most of my experience at HBR, and I cannot thank everyone that I spoke to enough.