During the summer of 2025, I was an Assistant Buying intern at Kohl's Corporate, in the Girls 0-8 office. This well structured program consisted of three projects and weekly cross-functional classes, while providing each intern with an engaging support team. Each intern project taught different skills that pertained to our specific roles and provided opportunities to present our ideas to divisional teams and managers. The first project was a competitive shopping presentation, the second was a best sellers analysis presentation, and the last project was a group case competition that challenged interns to pitch a new assortment line or category that would both retain existing customers and attract a new customer segment.

Our second presentation, in particular, was my favorite. The Best Seller’s presentation required each intern to identify their office’s best performing styles within a certain season, in order to pinpoint key themes and make suggestions for the following season. This exercise allowed me to engage with the art and science skills involved with buying. The sales & planning data I analyzed for each style influenced my key takeaways and suggestions.

I had the opportunity to complete an additional competitor analysis project for my team. With the recent launch of a new kids clothing brand, I completed an extensive report that identified Kohl’s competitive advantage in regards to marketing strategies, pricing & promo, product offerings, sales share callouts, and more. Following this research I provided a variety of potential next steps and opportunities for the Girls 0-8 office.

Outside of the office, the Kohl’s early talent team organized a variety of engaging intern activities and outings. I especially enjoyed the volunteering outing at the Penfield Children’s Center in Milwaukee. Our group was tasked with cleaning the center's offices and reorganizing the children's reading center with new books. This activity was a great opportunity to work together and support the local community.