Each semester, Crosworks hosts a high school senior intern from Thomas Worthington’s Entrepreneurial Business Academy (EBA). While we had faith in her from the beginning, Courtney Stegemiller surprised herself. As you will see in her reflections on her time at Crosworks, her six-word brand is right on: Listen. Assess. Act. Keep Moving Forward.
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By Courtney Stegemiller
At the beginning of my senior year, looking forward to the spring semester, I was faced with a lot of unanswered questions. I had no clue where I would be attending college, what I would be majoring in, where I would be doing my spring internship, the list felt endless. So, when I was presented with the idea of interning with Shelly Stotzer at Crosworks, I immediately jumped at the opportunity. I knew that this was a chance that does not come around every day and would hopefully help me answer some of my undetermined questions, so the decision to intern with Shelly was a no-brainer.
While interning at Crosworks, I had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects that tested my skills in many different fields. I started by looking at the business from the perspective of a client, which had me completing the Birkman Assessment® and Career Management Exercise. Going into the Birkman Assessment, I thought it might be an interesting experiment to learn a little bit more about me. But, I did not expect it to read me like a book and pull insights about myself that I had yet to notice.
When Shelly was going over my Birkman results with me, it felt like she was putting together a puzzle and, when she was finished, I finally had an idea of what I wanted to do with my future. My Birkman Assessment matched me with potential careers in which I would likely thrive and, in that list, marketing was placed near the top. After learning more about myself from the assessment, I knew I had finally found what I wanted to major in – marketing – and that was one less question I felt like I had to answer.
After completing my Birkman Assessment, I began working on a wide array of projects throughout the office. This spanned from database organizing, to reporting, to research projects, all of which I loved. Before interning at Crossworks, I never understood the countless layers that go into successfully running a business but now I feel like I have more of a grasp over all the different moving parts. I admire Shelly Stotzer even more than when we started, now that I understand a small slice of all the work she and her team conduct to keep the business running smoothly.
Overall, interning at Crossworks allowed me the opportunity to work with so many wonderful people that I am thankful I had the opportunity to meet. I never thought I would learn as much as I did from one semester working with Shelly and her team. I am now leaving my intern experience having the answers to all the questions I was so worried about in the fall. This experience guided me to my major and, after having the self- reflection that I experienced from the Birkman Assessment, I felt like my choice of a college was clear, as well. I am excited to attend The Ohio State University this fall, knowing that this internship was one of the many factors that helped me come to that decision.