Author: kaylah809

Today I spent the day in the communications department, the last leg of my eight day journey through SAS. I spent the morning with internal communications and the afternoon with external communications, which I came to realize had alot of overlap. I spent the afternoon with Kim in the executive support branch of external communications department. Kim and her team’s job was to support the C level executives within SAS, this includes Dr. Goodnight. The support they provide consists of everything from writing their speeches and blogs to instructing the chief officers on how they should speak in order to stay in line with the SAS image. It was funny to me to learn that most of the social media account that are said to belong to these executives are maintained by others without much consideration from the person the account belongs to. Kim also told me that she works on newsletters and awards within the sales department. When I asked Kim why this wasn’t considered internal communications, she told me that it was but that sometimes external will work on some internal stuff too. Kim was busy with lots of interesting work at the moment as their had just been a very substantial change in leadership within sales, the department Kim works very closely with. She was busy working on a presentation and other materials to be given to the new officer in order for him to conduct his work in a manner that would fit SAS’s image.

All in all SAS was a great experience. I was able to meet many different people and get a true feel of the corporate world. I had a great experience and would highly recommend it to all future juniors.

Today I shadowed Dave and Beth in the marketing department at SAS. I spent the morning with Dave who works on ensuring that SAS is always one of the first websites to show up when you look up a “key word” on google. Dave described to me that a “key word” is a word or phrase that he expects customers to search on google and that are applicable to SAS. Dave makes SAS pop up for these key words through Google ads, meaning that they pay for their spot in the search results. I was surprised when Dave told me what he did because I had met someone in the web development department who I at first thought did the exact same thing as Dave. Dave went on to explain to me that him and Katy in web development had the same goal: for SAS to pop up at the top of Google searches. However, they both achieved this goal in different ways. Dave was achieving this goal by “out bidding” other companies for the top spots in a search, or in other words being more willing to pay more for each click on their search results by a customer. Katy, on the other hand, achieved the same goal by manipulating SAS web pages themselves. She changes the code and prevalence of words in the website to make it more relevant to Google searches without paying money for ads. It was interesting to see two people working on the same goal in their own individual styles.  Dave later went on to explain to me the many ways that companies access your demographic info and use this to select the ads they show you without you even knowing. Needless to say it was a very eye opening morning.

Today I shadowed two different sides of the corporate creative department at SAS. I spent the morning with Patrice Cherry, who creates flyers and materials for SAS’s many different events. I spent the afternoon with Shawn Payne who creates promotional videos used both internally and externally at SAS along with operating the lighting and microphones of many of the stage presentations at SAS. During my time with Shawn in the afternoon I, along with the others involved in work experience at SAS and SAS interns, attended a data for good presentation. Data for good is a campaign launched by SAS in order to promote their software in a more anthropological light. I originally thought this campaign was just a marketing ploy, but after listening to the presentation it became clear that it was more than that. The presenter talked about the role SAS analytics played in the restoration process after the recent earthquake in Nepal. The presenter told us that after the earthquake destroyed many houses, rescue teams knew that they needed to build some sort of shelter for those who had been displaced as monsoon season was coming. By utilizing SAS analytics software, rescue teams were able to see that while India was was one the largest producers of metal sheeting, Nepal itself was its own metal production powerhouse. The team then decided to purchase the shelter materials from a company in Nepal. By doing this, they were able to boost Nepal’s economy as well as maintaining Nepalese jobs. It was very interesting to see that the SAS software could be used outside the corporate world, in a way that was truly helping those who needed it most. The presenters passion and conviction made it clear that his team was truly dedicated to helping people through using technology. I think I would have to say that today has been my favorite day thus far as i was able to see a more creative side of SAS that I didn’t even think of.

Today I shadowed the finance department at SAS. Similar to the IT department, I shadowed many different people today, switching about every half an hour. While I did meet many different people in finance department today, one experience that stood out was the meeting I attended with my mentor, Melody. This meeting was interesting as it spanned many departments. The finance, IT and human resource departments were coming together to discuss leaves taken by employees, such as maternity leave and medical leave. Each department played an important role in the discussion of its employees: The HR department handles employees, the finance department handles salaries to employees, the companies biggest expense, and IT handles the software that is used to track employees. The factor that was adding additional complexity to the issue was that the SAS company is found in over 40 countries. The team was in charge of employees in all of these countries, with each of these countries having their own policy in paid and unpaid leave. I really enjoyed attending this meeting as it was interesting to see many different departments coming together. Though I don’t think that I want to become an accountant, I still had a fun time learning the intricacies of the finance department,

Today I shadowed Justin Lambiase in the sales department at SAS. Justin has only been working at SAS for two years, and though most of his day was filled with talking to his colleagues over the phone, it was his back story that really caught my attention. Justin didn’t really know what he wanted to do when he began his college career so he decided to follow the pre-medicine track. However, by the time he finished this degree, he realized he didn’t have the heart to handle the many ups and downs of being a doctor. He had done countless internships in hospitals and, consequently, saw all of the difficult decisions doctors have to make and didn’t think that he would be able to break bad news to the families of his patients. Justin later went on to earn a degree in Finance and begun working at SAS. He talked with me a lot about his college experience and how important it was to do something outside of the normal curriculum. Justin worked for multiple startups in his area during his college career. He told me that in his career he has used more of the knowledge he learned at the start ups than what he learned in college. Justin had many of his own small businesses when he was a teenager, such as a window washing service and running golf lessons, both of which he employed his friends. Justin told me that as a very people oriented person, business and sales always seemed to come naturally for him. In his current job Justin was constantly collaborating with other members of the sales department, as well as the companies he was selling to.  Like many other employees at SAS, Justin earned a degree in something that was completely unrelated to what he is doing now. But over time he was able to find a job that really suites him, and that he enjoys.

I spent today with Alanna Howard, a website designer in the web development department of SAS. Alanna had only worked at SAS for about 4 years and, being a younger employee,  she was able to give me a fresh perspective on what it’s like being a website designer in today’s tech savvy world. I would say today was my best food and drink day thus far. Alanna and I went on multiple tea, coffee and hot chocolate runs, one of those being to a Starbucks located in a nearby building. Alanna showed me the cornucopia of snacks in the office breakroom, and I spent large part of my day snacking on peanut M&M’s and graham crackers. However, the icing on the cake was lunch. Alanna had told me stories about the cafeteria’s famous sushi and when lunch time arrived I was able to try it for myself. It lived up to all my expectations and more. Alanna and I also able to have a  great conversation with her mentor over our delicious lunch.  One of the many other activities I did today with Alanna was testing out a training series she had created for AEM, the software used by SAS employees to create their websites. I went through the approximately hour long course, searching for glitches or issues in programming. It was nice to know that I was contributing to and assisting in Alanna’s work. Unfortunately, I did not do so well on the test at the end of the training module, but we were able to forgive and forget. I had a great time today in the Web Development department. Alanna did a great job showing me all the different roles employees play in the creation of websites along with shattering my preconceptions of what it meant to be in web development.

 

Testing the AEM training software

Fabulous lunch courtesy of the SAS cafeteria

Alanna’s office white board, detailing today’s work

Today I shadowed the IT department at SAS. The format of my experience today was much different than yesterday’s. Today I switched mentors every hour so i was able to get a very well rounded view of the IT department. One of the most memorable parts of my day was when i first arrived this morning. Ms. Elena was my one person welcome committee and we spent our time walking around the lake beside the Umstead Hotel.  I really appreciated this break from the office time that I had become accustomed to. Ms. Elena told me about what she does as a project manager in the IT department along with describing her personal experience at SAS. Walking around the lake felt much more natural than if I was sitting across a desk from my mentor. It was a great way to start off the day. Another great experience from today was lunch. Not only were the food and facilities beautiful, but also I was able to have another beneficial conversation with Mr. Michael. In the morning I shadowed the business side of the IT department and in the afternoon I shadowed the hardware side. Mr. Michael, who worked on the hardware side, took time to explain to me the differences of the many facets of the IT department and cleared up my confusions from that morning. One of the biggest lesson I learned from my experience in the IT department today is that it really is okay that i currently am not sure what I want to major in.  In a project manager meeting that I attended with my second mentor, Janine, all of those attending the meeting had started their college careers in a major that didn’t apply to what they are doing now. Shadowing the IT department was a great experience. I was able to see the behind the scenes hardware that is necessary to running SAS’s complex technological infastructure. I was also able to experience the business side with Janine and Elena. The IT department did a great job introducing me to the many different sides their work.

Umstead Hotel lake

Hotel-esque cafeteria

Checking out the server

Dr. Goodnight’s conference room

Today I shadowed Mr. Howard Browne who is an attorney in the legal department at SAS. We started off our day with Mr. Browne explaining to me what SAS was as a business as I had told him that the only thing I knew about SAS was that they produced analytics software. He went into detail on the difference between the selling and the licensing of software, along with why it was so crucial for a large company like SAS to have a strong legal department. I spent most of my time in his office, though we also attended meeting with many of his colleagues . Mr. Browne joked that I wouldn’t truly be experiencing the SAS legal department without attending a meeting.  After the meeting, we returned to his office and Mr. Browne gave me three documents to look over: the Professional Service Agreement, Services Agreement and the Master License Agreement. Mr. Browne allotted time for me to carefully read these documents, before we had an in depth discussion on word choice and what each section of the contracts meant. I was able to listen in on a call Mr. Browne had with a colleague to discuss contracts needed for the construction of additional solar panels and bee hives on campus. Afterwards we had lunch in the dining hall located in the basement of the building. Once we had finished our lunch, Mr. Browne used our free time to take me on a tour of the entire SAS campus. As we drove around I was able to see a side of SAS that I did not even know existed.  Mr. Browne also explained how the work he did played a huge factor in the new buildings I saw as he specialized in construction law. Once we returned, Mr. Browne informed me that he had set up two different meetings for me with other lawyers under his supervision. I was able to speak with Karen and Janie, both who specialized in different facets of law at SAS, trademark registry and HR respectively, and gave additional insight into the type of work that is conducted into the legal department. At the end of the day Mr. Browne took me around the office and I was able to meet many of his colleagues who all specialized in something unique. Everyone in the legal department was very welcoming and more than willing to sit down and talk with me. Mr. Browne provided me with a great shadowing experience today as he was more than willing to answer questions and show me around. I’m very excited to experience the IT department tomorrow!

Hello!