My Engaged Learning Experience:
Jaguar Leadership Network
Elijah Coyle
Embedded Files
Above is a picture taken of me in the Stradale EXP, a pinnacle of Dallara manufacturing
Purpose
Purpose
My engaged learning experience took place at Dallara Indycar Factory in Speedway, Indiana. My position at the company is an accounting intern and my positions include processing the company's accounts receivable and accounts payable, updating monthly financials, as well as analysis/creation of any documents or reports needed.
The reason I took this position is because an accounting/finance internship is directly related to my major and provides a great opportunity to learn and gain experience in the career path I intend on pursuing. I specifically chose Dallara because the company is in an amazing industry and I appreciate the values of the company: humbleness, integrity, and curiosity.
Prior Experience
Prior Experience
There are many ways my life experience and experiences in my college courses have taught and helped me throughout my engaged learning experience and vice versa. For example the overall ability to communicate in network at The Kelley School of Business has helped me while at Dallara. It has provided me with the confidence and ability to communicate in a professional work setting whilst talking with coworkers and communicating with suppliers.
A Specific example of this woould be communicating with purchasing managers at our company and suppliers. It is somewhat scary at first but I learned to be confident with communicating with people of authority through networking at IUPUI. Another example would be my ability to read and analyze financial documents which I learned through multiple classes at IUPUI. The ability to understand financial documents has helped me while processing and reading fincial documents in my engaged learning experience. An example of this would be learning how to fluently understand an income statement, which I learned to do both in my classes and in my internship.
Above is a picture of me after completing the I-Core presentation
Communicating and building connections amongst people in a professional setting is important
Community Connections
Community Connections
The people I worked with and served were all business professionals, manufactuers and suppliers in the business world. Many of these people worked in the racing industry (including Dallara), as well as a variety of other industries such as engineering, security, shipping and many others. I served them by facilitating the process of accounts payable and accounts receivable.
My role with suppliers is to process the invoices. Usually the process is smooth, but often there are issues with receiving, invoice pricing, due dates, etc. I try to solve these issues to the best of my ability with respect to our suppliers. My tasks include a 3-way matching process in which I match receiving documents, purchase orders and invoices and process accordingly. My tasks also include communicating with suppliers if any issues arise as stated above.
New Skills/Lessons
While in my engaged learnig experience I discovered that respect and honesty goes a long way. During my internship if i was honest that I needed help, people appreciated the honesty. If I was respectful and patient with people's time and in the way I interacted, they would recipricate it.I learned that across all industries, people are the same. Patience, competence and respect are valued by all people whether it be your coworkers or suppliers.
I learned how to communicate professionally, such as how to write and prepare important emails. I also gained the skill of properly facilitating the accounts payable side of a company between accounting, warehousing and suppliers. I learned that in the business world, people are are not as intimidating and cold as you fear when you enter into the industry, instead people are kind and respectful. For example when sending an email about a simple mistake a supplier made, I found that more often then not, they respond with sincerity and a willingness to help.
Much of the crucial skills I learned involved accounting,finance and administration
Impact
This engaged learning experience had a tremendous impact on me both professionally and educationally. It taught me to respect peoples time and be patient in a professional setting as well as enhance my ability to fluently read financial statements which will help me throughout my professional and educational career. I feel that even though suppliers/customers won't remember my name in years to come, but in the days I work I feel that they are happy working with me and that the process is smooth.
The people I worked with had an amazing impact on me, it is the first place I learned how to operate in a professional setting, and as my career progresses I will always appreciate and owe a debt of gratitude to Dallara for teaching me and setting a foundation for me. Seeing the integrity, humbleness and curiosity that thrives in Dallara has had a lasting impact on me. It showed me that everyday when you show up to work, keeping those values will make you feel accomplished and help you accomplish your work as well.
Throughout my ongoing experiences, all the lessons and challenges have had a positive impact on me
Career Connections
Based on these experiences I plan to incorporate them into my future career and my ongoing education. I will do this by growing my ability to communicate professionally and grow my ability to analyze and create financial statements. I will continue my ongoing internship at Dallara and potentially work there after college if the opportunity arises.
This connects directly with my career goals because if my career remains at Dallara then not only will I have general experience for any career in finance/accounting but I will understand the operations of the company I had an internship at. I am open to seeking new experiences, but for the time being growing the experiences and learning with the company I currently work for seems fit.
There are many paths you can take dependingon your goals and priorities and this is represented in this graphic
Summary
My experience at Dallara has been great. It has been full of amazing learning opportunities and a lot of challenges that ended up being positive. Dallara has provided me an amazing internship and has provided a foundation for me to develop as a business professional and student at The Kelley School of Business. The company has developed my ability as a finance student and as an overall person in my ability to overcome challanges.
JLN was very influential in my journey professionally because the engaged learning experience pushed me to go out and take action the on the neccesary steps required to secure an internship. My biggest takeaway from JLN and the engaged learning experience is to get out of your comfort zone. There is a lot of fear and hardships when it comes to growing professionall, but JLN helped show me that on the other side is a world of opportunity.
Above is a picture of a pit stop at the indy500
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