Author: laurelm892

Our last day started with Aaron Hill, the manager of the web development department. Mr. Hill presented to us a PowerPoint about web development and explained exactly what it is and what it means specifically to SAS. Our host for the rest of the half of the day was Brian Lape who is a web designer. He took us to Starbucks in building C to grab coffees and teas and then talk about his career choices and what we want to do eventually. Brian was the first person we met who said that their job was not where they’re “supposed” to be or what they’re super passionate about. I enjoyed how honest was about trying to balance getting paid and doing what you love. After our chat over coffee, we headed back to his office where George and I got to design and build our own web pages. He taught us some simple techniques and stressed the importance of knowing basic coding in business. Next we met Michael Tourmey for lunch who also explained to us what he does at SAS and how he fits into web development. After lunch we went to his office where we saw the programs and websites he uses to track activity on SAS websites. Next we went to a conference room with a colleague of his to discuss how they work with marketing to ensure the success of sales and also talking about college choices in general. I am sad to leave SAS, but I am grateful to have had such an eye-opening experience!

Day 7 started off interesting, as it was difficult to get into the IT building, E! A badge was needed to enter and there was no front desk, so I waited on the next person to approach the door so I could find my way in. The kind woman who helped me find Jennifer Nenadic from there was actually a family friend that I had not seen in forever, so that was a neat coincidence that happened. After introducing ourselves to Jennifer, she led us back to her office where we discussed what IT is and what they actually do. Next we were passed off to Michael Zachary who showed us actual SAS software in action, which was something I had yet to experience. We met some of his closest team members, Matt, Ralph, and Sherrie in their offices and talked to each of them individually about what their job entails. We met a business analyst, which was interesting to see how my interest in international business could lead me to IT. Next, we met Mr. Toy for lunch in the atrium, a cafeteria that we had yet to eat at. After discussing his place and job at SAS over lunch, we headed over to where all computers, monitors, laptops, and phones go! George and I got a pretty elaborate tour and even tried the Virtual Reality system. Our second to last stop of the day was the most interesting in my opinion. We met the man who is in charge of technically supporting all executive level employees at SAS. Jonathan showed us the technology in conference rooms and also led us through some problems that he normally has to solve. Our last host of the day was Will Phillips, who took us to a meeting with his team to discuss data analytics in terms of temperatures in the data centers.

Day six with the legal team has probably been one of the most interesting so far. Immediately upon arriving in the morning we met and followed Kelly Perry, an attorney for SAS, to the T building café to grab coffee and snacks. She then led us back to her office where we discussed her job and career. Mrs. Perry’s job seems to have had the most relation to international business so far in George and I’s rotation. She used to travel around the world, but now since having kids she communicates with the other SAS branches in countries all across the world. She can speak Spanish well, so she finds ways to incorporate that into her job as well. Kelly introduced us to Janie and Debbie, two other attorneys, who let us sit in on one of their meetings together. After that meeting we went to grab lunch and took our food to a meeting with others from the legal department. This meeting was different in the sense that it was for a fun video they were making for a colleague who would be out the office for a while. It was definitely interesting to see this side of the legal team, a group in which most would assume is quite serious all the time. After that meeting George and I headed down to another building to watch a lecture on how SAS data and analytics can help others in need. We met up with a few other fellow Cary Academy students, but the rest of the people there were kids from the sales academy. It was a really interesting topic concerning mostly natural disasters and how to analyze data in order to help quickly and efficiently. George and I navigated our way back to building T with ease and then met Melanie Thomas who was a former SBI agent, so she had some very interesting stories to tell us! Our last stop in the legal department was to Don’s office. He talked less about legal and gave us more advice about how we can do anything we want. It was definitely a good end to a good day!

 

Back to building C for day 4! George and I met with Anna Harper at 9 am to discuss marketing and what consists of it at SAS. Anna stressed the importance of digital marketing at this day and age and expressed how lucky we are to have these types of courses offered at universities. We were then introduced to Katie who we would shadow for the rest of the day until lunch. Katie told us lots about her job and introduced us to her colleague David, who is responsible for communicating and making deals with google for paid search. Katie allowed us to listen in on a conference call, but she didn’t tell anyone we were listening because she wanted us to have a realistic experience. At lunch we met with two of her friends and mostly discussed college and what George and I want to extract from our experience at SAS. The three of them took us on a more elaborate tour of Building C. We visited the sixth floor which houses Dr. Goodnight’s rock collection and gave a cool view of the grass and solar panels on the roof of the building. We were then introduced to Karen who would allow us to shadow her for the rest of the day. She took us around the office to briefly talk with people from all over marketing and then we got to attend our biggest meeting yet, and it was one that was off campus. The last portion of our day consisted of getting back to SAS and talking with the events planner lady who organizes any sporting events or events in general for SAS. Excited for a break but also ready to come back Monday to experience internal/external communications!

I came into today very excited to experience something different as we were about to explore the more creative part of SAS, Corporate Creative in building U. We met Aaron and Ashley who spent half the day showing us projects and how they create advertisements and booths for SAS. After explaining that to us and showing us programs and projects for a few hours we attended a creative meeting where employees express concerns about their projects and ask for help. It was neat seeing how they all helped each other make design decisions. Before lunch, we went on the “scenics tour” which is to the warehouse where all the printing and wood workshop and art is! Immediately after we went to lunch in C again. Here we met Ed Harriss who would be with us for the rest of the day in the video production building V. Ed gave us a tour of the building which consisted of many studios and equipment. Our last part of the day was spent in his office talking about what his job consists of and him showing us some of his most recent computer graphics work. George and I are excited to experience the marketing branch for our fourth day at SAS.

 

At the beginning of the day I was curious as to what the HR department does. I knew it had something to do with firing and hiring but I didn’t really know the specifics. George and I started off the day meeting with Bethany LeClair, who is the head of University Recruitment at SAS. She basically explained what HR is, what her role is, why she enjoys it, and how she incorporates younger people into the SAS community. After our meeting with her we were introduced to Laura Allen who would be hosting us for the day. We also met her close colleague and friend Kristin Strickland. Both of these young ladies just recently graduated from NC State and Kristin is on her way to becoming a full time employee after interning for a year. George and I stuck with Laura and Kristen throughout most of the day so I would say they co-hosted us. Having both recently graduated, they had lots of advice and information for us not only regarding SAS, but also college in general. Next we met Christie Doughtery, the Pro Recruiter who told us about her job and what she does. One of the most interesting parts of the day for me was meeting Leanne Logue who is an HR partner who deals with elevated situations. She had many interesting stories and had work experience at many places including Amazon. She talked about how she keeps like at work separate from life at home and why she enjoys resolving issues among others. Next was lunch time! We all had lunch with Juli Cox and Anne Mazza who are both close colleagues of Laura. After lunch we met Laura’s boss who introduced some programs to us and showed us around the SAS website. She talked about how analytics are beginning to be incorporated into the HR department. The last stop of the day was at the café downstairs with a male employee who gave us detailed insight into his career path and how he ended up at SAS. He also gave us tips about college and wanted to hear from us as much as we wanted to hear from him. I can’t wait for corporate creative tomorrow!

 

What a great start to my work experience program at SAS! I arrived with ease around 8:45 and proceeded to navigate my way through building C after checking in and getting our visitor badges. George and I figured out that we will be together throughout this whole program. We met with Patty Hager from the sales and presales department of SAS. Since it was our first day and I had limited knowledge on SAS and what they do, Ms. Hager was kind to explain in detail what SAS is to George and I. We had this discussion in the beautiful C building café dining room. Patty then explained briefly how sales and presales work and then George and I told her a bit about ourselves and what we hoped to get from this program. After our talk, we went upstairs to meet Kristen Eggenberger who we would be shadowing for the rest of the day. I was initially surprised that Kristen was so young. We learned that she had recently graduated from the SAS Sales Academy, a program for young adults internationally who just graduated from college. Later in the day we would sit in on a lecture with the Sales Academy students. George and I both expressed our interest in International Business so we were very much exposed to the wide culture of SAS. While listening and talking with students we heard many accents and met people from around the world. We continued on to meet with Kristen’s mentor and boss and asked them questions about their career paths and what it was like to work in sales and presales. Kristen was kind enough to take us on a tour of the SAS campus before lunch, so we were able to better understand SAS before the day was almost over. After lunch, George and I sat in on a team meeting with Kristen and her boss/colleagues. We got to see the team’s goals and how close everyone was to reaching their yearly quota. George and I expressed our gratitude to Kristen and we wished each other luck! I am so excited to see what HR has in store for us tomorrow.

Excited for two fun weeks of work experience!