A Truly Transformative Experience
By Stephen Barela, Innovation & Improvement Intern
January 3, 2023
I’ll never forget the first day of my internship. Gary Vansuch came down to the lobby, welcomed me, took me to the fourth floor and introduced me to all of the interns in Intern Alley. After taking a group photo, he gave me a tour of headquarters and that’s when I knew I would never be the same man I was before I started on this new journey. I learned about Janet Bonnema and was inspired by her courage; she reinforced the idea that you can achieve anything you set your mind to by stepping outside of your comfort zone. As the 74th intern in the Office of Process Improvement (OPI), I met my Intern Buddy, Ronald Archer - one of the friendliest and most intelligent men I’ve had the pleasure to work with. He took me under his wing, helped me set-up my workstation and briefed me on the projects he was working on as well as those that would be passed off to me after his departure from the program. Little did I know that one of the projects he passed onto me, The Better Together Series, would have such a profound impact on me personally and professionally!
As interns, we are given several opportunities to visit various Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) events, projects, and innovative feats of engineering. The first intern outing I attended was the Region 1 Roadeo, held at the KOA Maintenance Complex. Fellow interns Ronald Archer, Rebekah Roux and myself staffed the booth for Lean Everyday Ideas (LEI) to raise awareness and encourage participation in the 2022 Innovation Challenge amongst Roadeo participants. Although I was initially hesitant, I took advantage of the opportunity to drive a snow plow to maneuver a section of the obstacle course! I shared laughs and conversations with several of the participants to learn about various innovations implemented by members of the Maintenance team to improve operations, many of which have been submitted to the 2022 Innovations Challenge that showcases and awards the top innovators across CDOT.
Additional intern outings proved to be just as memorable as the Region 1 Roadeo.I also visited the Colorado Transportation Management Center (CTMC) during my internship which is the central traffic monitoring station for all of the State highways discovering their crucial role in keeping state highways safe. Additionally, I toured Denver International Airport (DIA) to learn about their sustainable energy program. Our visit to the Central I-70 Project provided insight into the recent innovative process improvements aimed at increasing traveler safety, efficiency and community improvements. The Central I-70 Project had an especially strong impact upon me as this project overcame exceptional challenges in engineering by lowering I-70 below ground level. As a result, the Elyria-Swansea community, divided in the 1960s by the former interstate design and construction, is once again a cohesive community.
One of the highlights of my internship was networking. During my time with OPI, I was given numerous projects requiring collaboration with industry professionals ranging from engineers to lean experts to transportation agency directors. I conducted interviews with transportation professionals to create Idea Cards showcasing their innovations and continuous improvement projects. I worked with change management practitioners to create Success Stories discussing how the 3-Day Prosci change management course contributed to the success of their current and future projects. As an intern, I scheduled several “Sit-With” interviews with state government employees. These interviews served as a method to learn more about the job duties of other department members while providing me insight about which type of occupational role would be professionally fulfilling for me.
Leadership opportunities are abundant as an intern in OPI. Interns across CDOT virtually presented during the Intern Report Out to the agency executives. This provided a platform for me to discuss the projects I was working on and how my contributions added value in helping CDOT achieve its strategic goals. As a producer and co-producer, I successfully planned and broadcast several Transportation Lean Forum (TLF) webinars. Doing so not only enabled me to further develop organizational and communication skills, but also strengthened my relationship building skills. Every intern will participate in two Prosci change management courses; the first being the 3-Day employee course and the second is the 1⁄2 Day Supervisor course. My role was to co-produce and produce both courses by offering support to the instructors and moderating to ensure a smooth learning experience for participants.
External collaboration is encouraged and I was given an opportunity to co-instruct the PB & J course which introduces participants to the foundations of lean and process mapping through an interactive experience assembling a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Before the end of my stay with OPI, I organized a virtual “Coffee-Room Chat” with Stephen “Shed” Shedletzky, an internationally recognized forward-thinking organizational leadership speaker. This was an especially proud and memorable experience for me and one I won’t soon forget. He spoke about the importance of psychological safety in developing an organizational speak-up culture.
To be an intern in the Office of Process Improvement is to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. To do this, you will roll up your sleeves and get to work on various projects that contribute to a much bigger picture. I served as the Editor-In-Chief of the TLF Newsletter - a newsletter showcasing not only transportation and lean agency innovations, but also continuous improvement efforts and success stories. I maintained the leadership role to develop and distribute the newsletter in July, August, and September, enhancing my marketing knowledge tremendously. As contributors to several projects within OPI, interns virtually presented details about their projects to industry professionals in prestigious webinars and summits such as Intern Report-Outs, The Virtual Lean Summit, the Washington State Government Lean Transformation Conference and the Results Washington: Washington State Conference.
I worked with numerous project leaders for Concept to Project (C2P), discussing their cross-functional business improvement projects and entering them into a central database which were then published on an internal website. The most comprehensive project I contributed to was the flagship for OPI’s strategy program, the Better Together Series. As the project leader, I worked under the guidance of Michelle Malloy and Gary Vansuch, also alongside fellow intern, Rylie Wieseler, in developing a program that raised awareness of the FY23 performance plan to over 3000+ CDOT employees from the top executives down to the frontline employees. With this initiative, our project team is helping everyone inside the agency to learn about how their daily work contributes to the success of CDOT’s strategic goals. The Better Together Series project was passed on to me by my Intern Buddy, Ronald Archer. Working on the Better Together Series project challenged me, tested me, and developed me into a professional that is more resilient, informed, and capable!
One of the most famous phrases around the office is “an intern’s first job is to learn.” From day one until the bittersweet last day, there is no greater opportunity for continuous learning and development as there is as an intern in the Office of Process Improvement. One of my proudest achievements is becoming a Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner, a certification that allows me to guide people through change by applying change management frameworks and methodologies.
I never could have imagined nine months passing by so swiftly. When I depart my internship with CDOT and OPI, I’m not only taking a coveted certification along with me, but I am also taking an immense wealth of knowledge obtained through hands-on experiences and learning excursions that changed my perspective. Perhaps the most empowering of all…I am walking away feeling a level of confidence I’ve never known before - a confidence that I can break through barriers and achieve goals that surpass even my own wildest dreams. My internship with the Colorado Department of Transportation in the Office of Process Improvement has been one of my most memorable and transformative experiences; one that I will proudly carry forward into the next chapter of my professional career.
