Intern Success Story - Tracy Nguyen
By Kailyn Haskovec, Process Improvement Intern
January 6, 2020
Tracy Nguyen started her internship with Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) Office of Process Improvement (OPI) as an undergraduate at Metropolitan State University (Metro) five and half years ago. Now, an accountant for the Colorado State Land Board with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Tracy has worked her way through the State government.
Tracy began her internship with OPI in May of 2014 and completed her internship in April of 2015 all while studying accounting at Metro. Her internship with CDOT was her first experience working with the government, and she hasn’t left the government setting yet.
Photo of Tracy Nguyen
During her internship, the Lean Everyday Idea program was one of Tracy’s favorite projects. She had been familiar with some process improvement techniques through her classes, such as Six Sigma and the 5 S’s of LEAN (Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain), but enjoyed seeing how they were utilized at CDOT. She worked on marketing and outreach so that employees would experience awareness and desire to participate. This allowed Tracy to interact with all levels and areas in the department.
The term “collaboration” best describes the internship for Tracy. One of her favorite aspects was working with other interns from various educations and backgrounds on a mix of projects. She enjoys working in a team environment and advises any new interns to take advantage of the many networking opportunities available at CDOT. She stresses the importance of networking as “people are the number one biggest ROI (return on investment) in your life,” and CDOT certainly provides the opportunity to meet those people.
After her internship with CDOT, she pivoted to working for the Colorado Department of Labor Employment (CDLE) as an unemployment insurance technician. Then, once she graduated, she worked as an auditor for CDLE. After realizing auditing may not be the best fit, she started her current position as an accountant with the Colorado State Land Board. One of the biggest lessons Tracy learned during her internship at CDOT was that “public sector work is work worth doing”. This dedication to public service has now stayed with her throughout her career.
The lessons learned during her internship continue to have an impact today. She often thinks about Lean processes, change management and ways to involve staff with various improvements at the State Land Board. She mentions how it “cultivated how [she] interacts with frontline employees and staff to make their job more efficient, safer and better.”
As for the future, Tracy hopes to continue to work in the public sector. She recently began a Masters of Information Systems program through the University of Colorado Denver and expects to graduate in 2021. She sees a need to understand big data, and hopes to use her skills to continue to improve the State of Colorado.