Today, it is with great sadness to say that I have walked through the front doors of Wawa for the last time of my internship. For the past 9 weeks I have gotten to take part in a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience with a company whose values and business plan is one of a kind. The hands-on experience and knowledge gained through the internship will be beneficial to me for the course of my career. This internship set in stone the foundation of my career and I plan to use techniques and advice gained from the past nine weeks with future employers.

For the past nine weeks, I have spent a total of 360 hours at Wawa, beginning my day at 8:30AM and ending it around 4:30PM. The drive to Media, PA is about 1 hour without any traffic. So, I have had to wake up at 6AM for the past nine weeks to drive an hour for an 8-hour work day to turn around and drive another hour back home. The third day of my internship, I totaled my car on the way into work, still managing to make sure that I came to work instead of taking the day off. Each week, I went through about 30 gallons of gas which at an average of $3.45 per gallon, racks up to a hefty amount just in expenses excluding the $5.00 daily toll to cross the bridge. But in the end was it all worth it? Yes. It was the best experience I have ever had. I cannot begin to thank Wawa and the Risk Management team enough for the opportunity they gave me and for the chance to sit in on important meetings and complete lengthy tasks. Wawa is truly one of the best companies out there: They care about their customers and certainly care about their associates. Even after only nine weeks, I felt like Wawa has become my family away from home.

For anyone reading who has not had at least one internship during their college tenure, I urge you to network to the best of your ability to find a company to intern with. Of course I would say to apply with Wawa for any open internship opportunities, but any experience with any company will be worthwhile in the long run. An internship is a chance for you to not only make a name for yourself but also for you to gain hands on experience in a field relatively similar to your intended degree. Through Wawa, I got to see what it was like to work in a Risk Management department, working with Risk Finance analysts and attending weekly strategic business meetings. Experience is the greatest teacher in the world and we must jump on any opportunities presented before us.

Today marks the 5th year anniversary of the AIN (Associates in Need) program at Wawa. This program was designed to help associates and their families in times of need. Whether it is a missed mortgage payment or even outstanding funeral costs, the program serves as financial support funded through the associates’ paychecks. When you begin working at Wawa, there is an option to have a payroll deduction which goes directly to this fund and with that, the Internal Care department has money set aside for when a Wawa family is struggling. In the five years since the establishment of the program, thousands of Wawa families have been able to receive some type of financial support. I believe that this is the best benefit that the company has to offer. It represents their belief that the whole company is one big family and that everyone works together here. In today’s culture, it is almost impossible to go through life without any type of financial setback. With the AIN program, it allows associates to not have to worry as much when they hit a speed bump in life.

What we all need to ask ourselves when applying for jobs is: What do we want to get out of working for any company? Is it competitive pay? A month long of paid vacation? Company cars? Even though you are interviewing for a position within their company, it is still important to go into each interview with an idea of what benefits are most attractive to you. Sometimes working for a smaller company with lower employee numbers could potentially be very beneficial. Of course we would all love to work at Goldman Sachs, Apple and PricewaterhouseCoopers but if those companies do not provide great employee benefits, then is it really worth working for them? Programs like AIN prove that some companies really do care about their employees and value stewardship rather than how much money they can put in their pockets.

When you go above and beyond you are usually awarded for your actions. Whether it’s in the classroom or even in an office environment, going the extra mile usually comes with a reward of some sort. This week I received Goose Bumps at Wawa, in fact 5,000 of them. And no, I am not talking about the ones that run up and down your arms. Goose Bumps are given out each month to employees of different departments who have made significant contributions or even to those who just may have helped expedite the length of time consumed on one specific project. Since I usually view my work with a modest approach, I was totally surprised to receive recognition like this. My two supervisors told me that they were pleased with the work that I had accomplished since I walked in on Day 1 of the internship. For the past six weeks, I have been assisting with a sizable claim that the company had filed for as a result of a peril last Fall. Most of my work consisted of data collecting and communicating with dozens of business partners in order to track down information required by the insurance adjuster. One of my bosses said that without my help, the whole process would have taken a lot longer to complete and that the entire department was very appreciative of my work. From this, I have learned that it is very important to have incentives or competitions in the workplace. This type of practice serves as motivation for employees to work just a little harder when they come into the office each day. With that, companies will continue to have success and will see growth over time.

So you might be wondering what these Goose Bumps allow me to do. Each Goose Bump serves as a point toward an online account with Wawa. There, I can purchase clothing items or even movie passes for a Friday night date. I went ahead and purchased a Wawa hoodie and sweatpants for those cold Winter months. Also, I reserved a UHAUL truck to transport all of my Wawa apparel back to High Point

…just kidding