Internships can be a great experience for students looking to get real-world knowledge and learn by doing. Andrei Tabara recently completed an intensive internship at the Kem C. Gardner Intermountain Healthcare Supply Chain Center, a state-of-the-art facility which serves 22 hospitals and over 5000 physicians throughout Utah. The center handles every part of the healthcare supply chain process and has over 600 employees.

Recently career counselor Kate Peleshak asked Andrei some questions about the experience.

What is something you learned in class you applied at your internship?  

The coursework that I applied the most throughout the internship came from OIS 3440, OIS 5610, OIS 5620, OIS 3661, and FINAN 3041. Those classes all bolstered my analytical skills and improved my ability to filter large amounts of data into a business narrative. The ability to effectively work with data lent itself very well to the kind of work that Intermountain tasked me with. I will also say that Excel skills are very important and that can’t be overstated as all the analysis the interns do are through Excel and other similar tools.

What are your key takeaways from your internship?

We learn a shocking amount of relevant, and often times critical, skills. There weren’t any classes within the David Eccles School of Business that I can say I didn’t draw knowledge from. It’s very validating to be able to have a particularly depth of knowledge and a perspective that others don’t necessarily have and to be able to use those assets to legitimately contribute to the organization’s goals. The major takeaway for me is that even though we’re students, we’re still very qualified and seem to know a lot more than we think.

Do you have advice for potential interns?

My advice is to use every available resource when it comes to applying for internships and later working them. I would attribute fifty percent of any success that I’ve had in the intern process to feedback and questions. By utilizing the collective knowledge of the people around you and using their perspectives to fine tune your own work will make anything you do that much more powerful. Establishing and maintaining feedback loops are the biggest things you can do to set yourself up for success at Intermountain and otherwise.

What is the best thing about interning at Intermountain Healthcare Supply Chain Center?

By far, the most rewarding aspect of interning at the Intermountain Healthcare Supply Chain Center is working on projects that are both meaningful for the company and the student. Over the course of my tenure with Intermountain I was assigned projects that didn’t have any templates or set procedures. Everything I did had to come from research, previous knowledge, or general creativity, which made completing the projects and sharing them incredibly rewarding. Intermountain will let you ride giants if you feel ready and that level of trust, as well as the support network they set up for the interns, creates a very valuable experience.