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8/1/11 Final Blog

So today is my last day on the job here at Hy-Vee. I felt bad about being gone for an entire week and returning for just one day, but I feel like I've been able to once again jump right in, and hopefully I've been a benefit to have today. The team has been working on planning for upcoming trainings. We have been working all day in a team of four, and after an entire summer I can more clearly see each of our strengths. There is definitely some benefit to working with the same group of people to allow everyone to learn how they work together. I like the idea of keeping students in the same groups for a while so they can also reach this level of teamwork where they learn how they work together and what each of their strengths and weaknesses are so they can produce better products and learn more. I know that there is also benefit from giving the students opportunities to work with different people. In the business world you seem to have a close team you spend a lot of time working with, but you also need to be able to work and communicate with many other people. Maybe I can give my students a main group that they keep for a longer period of time and periodically switch off doing activities in those main groups and activities with different group set ups.

As I look back on my 6 weeks here, I see one of the most important things I've seen in the business world has been communication and initiative. Often you have to figure out on your own what needs to be done, and you need to communicate with many other people to get it done and get help.

I have witnessed that logs and formulas and algebra aren't used in the same way as they are in the classroom within Hy-Vee; however, many mathematical concepts regarding logic and reasoning are very prevalent in the work of almost everyone at Hy-Vee. Number sense is crucial.

I have enjoyed my time at Hy-Vee and would definitely consider taking part in another externship next summer!

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