The transition from college to the workplace has been a difficult but very rewarding one. In the MSc Marketing Practice course that I am completing at Cork Institute of Technology, the second semester we must go out and first interview for job offers where we will be working as interns. Job offers are corralled by one of the professors and leaders of the MSc Marketing Practice, Maurice Murphy. This made our jobs as students easier just going to interview instead of a finding an internship too. Then once we find our workplace we then go fulfill an internship for that company. Luckily enough I only had to interview once and received mine right away. I received my offer as an intern at VMware, a global technology company that excels in cloud infrastructure and security. The workplace is in Ballincollig, a town just outside of Cork City. The campus consists of six houses (Parnell, Kavanagh, Beckett, Behan, Emmett, and Yeats). The company contains just under 1,000 employees but is to surpass that number which shows how VMware is growing and displays how great of a company it is to work for. VMware is an international company that sells globally but is based out of the United States in Palo Alto, California. VMware is a fantastic company to work for. For the fourth time in a row they have earned a place on Fortune’s U.S. “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. They earned the #39 spot this year, because of their commitment to fostering a trust-based, inclusive culture where their employees thrive.
This opportunity would not be available to me without Sport Changes Life. Being a Victory Scholar has given me the most unique and constructive opportunities I would have never obtained anywhere else. This scholarship and this course has allowed me to acquire not only a great resume builder by working at VMware but great knowledge and life skills. I have been there since January 29th and it has been a tremendous experience. There have been some adjustments though from college life to being a 9 to 5 worker or in my case, 8:15 to 5 worker. The first being the early work hours and the waking up early every morning. At first, I was annoyed at the early starts, but I have started to enjoy them. It makes me feel as if I am way more productive. The second adjustment has been making my own lunches. When at college I would always have the food services and cafeteria to go to for a bite to eat but now making my own meals and planning has certainly been different. I am certainly eating healthier than the cafeteria as I usually bring big salads into work now. One of the best aspects about VMware is that they have monster coffee machines with lattes and cappuccinos, many assorted teas, and snacks like bagels, bread, breakfast bars, cereal, oatmeal, cookies, fruit, nuts, and raisins. This helps with never getting hungry at work and helps in aiding my salads to be that much better.
One of the best parts of the workplace so far though is the people I work with and around. Everyone is so friendly and helpful in making work at VMware that much better. We have daily discussions about what’s going on in our life or about who played in the Champions League the night before. It has also made me pay more attention to regular season soccer like the Premier League, and Champions League. Usually in the U.S. we would be discussing the NBA or NFL or college basketball but here I always must study up on soccer to talk sports at the workplace.
In conclusion, this program has given me incredible opportunities as well as the course I decided to enroll in. Next time on my blog be sure to tune in why I became a Victory Scholar!!!
