Christina Daniels, Corporate Intern for Store Operations at American Eagle Outfitters

 

I had my first day today!!! It was really exciting but also really nerve wrecking!  The dress code is very casual (no gym clothes or other logos), which makes getting ready alot easier for me!  It was a general orientation day where we got an overview of the Aerie and American Eagle brands, a tour of the buildings (which are BEAUTIFULLLL!!!!! They were just built in 2006), got our employee badges, our corporate discount cards (40 percent!!), learned about the mail program they use (Outlook) and filed paperwork.  It was a looonngggg day to say the least.  It was very informative though.  They talked alot about how lucky the 60 of us were to be in the program because alot of people applied.  We are the bigger class of interns they have ever had there.  I think that is because they are really trying to expand the company as a brand and globally as well, so they are looking for “the future leaders of the company”.  It is super exciting.  What they basically told us were that certain departments could offer you a job on the last day.  With other departments, like mine, they won’t be sure of open positions until the budget is reviewed.  So the Human Resources team remains in contact with you to inform you of any positions you may be eligible for and obviously you have a leg up over other applicants. But this is all assuming that they WANT to hire you at the end of your internship.  My mom gave me some good advice when she said “think of this as a 10 week job interview”, because it essentially is.  They are training us to move up in the company and more importantly they WANT to hire us interns in the company.  

The offices themselves are amazing.  They have their own gym, cafeteria and parking lot, which makes it amazingly convenient and cheap involving parking.  I will have my own desk in store operations as well, although it is awkwardly ALONE. IN THE CENTER OF THE ROOM. SURROUNDED BY THE REST OF STORE OPERATIONS TO STARE AT ME.  No, but seriously.  I am awkwardly floating in the middle of the room.  But I am so excited!  The team said I am joining at the worst possible time because they have a regional managers meeting and district managers meeting within the next 2 weeks that they are running around like mad working on.  Thursday, my mentor and the team won’t even be in the office!  They are going to have a binder with some work for me to do that day.  

As far as my work goes, I still am not that clear on what I will be doing in store operations.  I was told they are a little bit of everything.  Tomorrow we are doing a community service day as a company and almost everyone from the office will be there.  We are going to be doing some landscaping work in southside park and some local press might even attend!  After, we get a sneak peak at the bts (back to school) collections in a fashion show!!  So it will be a pretty laid back day.  Wednesday will be the ACTUAL first day of work. And I can. not. wait.  

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Susie Benitez; ACRE Student: From Fleece to Yarn

This summer, Professor Trimpey and I are doing an ACRE on sheep, wool, and spinning while out in Cedar City, UT. We thought that because Utah has a large number of sheep farms, this summer would be a great opportunity to travel there and go around to some ranches and learn more about a fiber that we come across daily in the costume shop. By the end of the summer, we hope to have mastered (or at least try our hand at) the process of cleaning, carding, and spinning a sheep’s fleece.

Cedar City is a beautiful town in southern Utah. When you walk outside, the sun is almost always shining and there are mountains all around. We are at 5,846 ft above sea level and located in a desert valley, so the climate is much different than what we are used to in Reading, PA. Utah is the 6^th largest sheep producing state in the US and you can go for a walk in Cedar City and shortly, come across a nicely sized sheep ranch.

Our first order of business was to find a place near Cedar City to get some of the supplies that we need to clean and spin a fleece. After an internet search, we found a store in Enterprise, UT, about a 45 minute drive, called “R Ewe Spinning.” It was a cute little store in the back of a gas station. We bought carding paddles (what you use to comb or brush out a fleece), some drop spindles, and some roving (fleece that has already been cleaned and carded). We also made a great connection with the owner of the store, Linda, who happened to be a shepherdess and have a small ranch with about 30 sheep. We were so lucky to have connected with Linda because she not only gave us some valuable information about sheep and spinning, but she also invited us out to her ranch to meet her sheep!

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These are some pictures of Utah.

Here Professor Trimpey and I are with Linda.