This fall, Hunter Cooke interned with Crosworks as part of the Entrepreneurial Business Academy program at Thomas Worthington High School. One of Hunter’s projects was to research and test AI-generated headshots, such as the image of him above. Read about Hunter’s experience in his own words:
I was first introduced to Crosworks via a long list of businesses that were looking for high school interns. To be candid, I didn’t know very much about Crosworks or what they did. I knew that career coaching could be an interesting business to experience first-hand, but when I sent in my resume I didn’t even put it together that Shelly Stotzer was my neighbor.
However, I quickly learned a lot about the company. Crosworks never loses sight of their brand and vision. They emphasized this concept when I was creating my own six-word brand. It was a great exercise in self-reflection and I think that it helped me focus my principles into something I will use for many years to come.
Of course, I was also able to learn the ins and outs of the day-to-day business. I found it very interesting to get up close and personal with the process so I could understand how the business is run. I was able to then apply this knowledge directly through engaging in self-directed projects. These projects mostly involved finding ways to automate manual processes I had been working on. I was given problems to solve and an entirely new set of tools to learn. It was very empowering to be able to use these tools to make informed decisions and create what I hope will be valuable solutions for the company.
The Crosworks team is fairly small but it is obvious that each of them are entirely committed to the concept. Everyone on the team is there because they want to help people, and many of them have gone through the coaching process themselves. I always felt like there was a fundamental commitment to feedback and a genuine interest in making the process better both for myself and for clients.
I was lucky enough to enjoy my own version of the Crosworks program which included taking the Birkman Assessment. I was amazed at how accurate it seemed to be and I felt like every detail that Shelly Stotzer interpreted was spot on. I find myself thinking about my Birkman often and it has helped me to understand and thus improve how I interact with friends, family, bosses, peers and myself.
Even though I plan to study engineering, I am confident my time working at Crosworks will be immensely valuable in my education and professional career. It will give important insights in how to orient my future in a way that works best for me and I know it will help me to be a better collaborator and a better person. I did not know what to expect from my time at Crosworks but I could not imagine now a more valuable place where I could have spent my business internship.