The SHRM/Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Internship Program opened the door to my career in human resources.
 
I was given the opportunity to work closely with the talent management team at a company called ITW in Chicago, IL, in order to make significant business decisions affecting the organization. In this effort, I have learned from different leaders as they embraced the strong ITW culture.
 
The internship exposed me to many functions of HR, which is what I was hoping coming into an HR role for the first time. During my internship, I was able to freely apply skills and knowledge previously learned from my education and experience. I was able to understand how important HR is to organization success because we provide the support needed to achieve the organization’s mission.
 

Through this experience I have developed stronger analytical skills that are continuously utilized in HR to make strategic business decisions. The exposure to diverse leaders helped me to develop new ways to form solutions. As an individual with management experience, I feel more comfortable making a decision that has been thoroughly analyzed and viewed through a different lens.
 
ITW lives by its entrepreneur culture, allowing every individual from all levels of the organization to be an entrepreneur. Every idea counts, and as a decentralized company, we have the ability to make a difference in the workplace by developing these ideas and working together to meet one goal.
 
Throughout the summer it was easy to share experiences with other interns. We networked at social events, learned about each other’s projects and volunteered in the community. ITW strongly encourages interns to accept challenges, be creative and “embrace your inner entrepreneur.” I learned that ITW understands the need to grow within the organization.