STUDENT IMPACT STORY CDO Helps Student Move from Amazon to Spanish Hostel
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here aren’t statistics on such things, but one could assume the number of MBA students who follow up an internship at Amazon with a self-created internship at a hostel in Spain is rather limited. Meet the exception. Christina Puder, MBA ’19 and MS ’19, utilized the services of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business Career Development Office to help her land a job at the Seattle-based retail giant during the summer of 2018. She sought out Amazon, believing having a large tech company on her resume would suit her well later in her career. Working as a Senior Product Manager Intern, Christina helped collaborate with the company’s engineering, marketing, design, legal and compliance teams to create a roadmap for expanding international payment capabilities for more than 400,000 customers. The Texas native said working at Amazon was an opportunity to grow in her career because she was part of a team that was handed a problem and given the freedom to address it – without her hand being held throughout the process. She did well enough there to be offered a full-time, return position as a senior product manager after her internship. Ultimately, Christina knew the company wasn’t her long-term destination, so she decided to take an entirely different path for her next internship. “I’ve thought about owning and running a hostel for couple years,” Christina said. “I’ve thought about living in Europe or abroad for a few years now. And I’ve thought about other types of startups I might want to do on my own. I wanted to see how much risk I’m willing to take and how I feel about risking it.” She decided to potentially pursue an internship blending these factors – as well as a desire to improve her Spanish – by seeking out a position at a hostel in Spain. During this time, she had been talking closely with Christina Strong, associate director and MBA career coach of the Career Development Office. The student presented her
idea to her advisor. “I said, Christina, I have this idea,” Christina said. “I think it’s kind of crazy. I want to talk to you about it. If you tell me it’s crazy, I’ll go back on the straight and narrow. But if you don’t think it’s extremely crazy, I really want to try this.” Luckily for the Ross student and hostel guests in Sevilla, Andalucia, Spain, Christina Strong was on board with the idea. Working with Hostel One, Christina spent the summer working to improve the guest experience, leading ethnographic research in both English and Spanish to better understand what drives great (and poor) guest experiences. Ultimately, she prototyped and built an app used to train staff on how to create a hostel environment guests will love. Christina, who became a peer coach to provide career insight and suggestions to other students at Ross, is now a product manager for SimpliSafe, a home security systems company. Christina leads a team of engineers and designers to enhance the company’s app experience. She is grateful for her experience with CDO, who helped a first-generation college student who wasn’t at all familiar with the career path selection process. She met with CDO staff more than 50 times in her 2.5 years at Michigan Ross, a testament to the value she found in the office’s services. “I appreciate that I can go about my own adventure, and whatever I needed CDO for, they were there. They were always available to talk. They were always very prepared, organized, and responsive to students’ needs.” The career-development services Christina received were made possible in large part by the Michael Gross Student Success Fund, established by Michael Gross, BBA ’83, and the Career Services Student Success Fund, established by Bryan Marsal, BBA ’73, MBA ’75. These funds were created with the goal of providing students with the resources needed to plan and secure successful careers upon graduating from Ross.