Indiana INTERNnet celebrated internship excellence on February 8, 2017, at the 11th Annual IMPACT Awards Luncheon. Though the event is over and the winners have been announced, we are continuing to celebrate the nominees’ successes.
These are their stories.
Mason Hammock is one of the first graduates of the business analytics program at Ball State University. He completed an internship with Ontario Systems.
Indiana INTERNnet: What made you interested in pursuing your major?
Mason Hammock: I am a business analytics (BA) major, with a minor in economics. I thought that BA was a good pairing of technical knowledge and high-level business leadership and communication. These are two skills I identified in myself when I decided to pursue a business-related career, so the major was a pretty natural fit.
IIN: Describe your internship experience with Ontario Systems.
Hammock: I could not have begun my career in a better place. The people at Ontario assess your ability based on the value you bring, not on your age, education, or experience. I was treated like an important member of the community from the first day of the internship. As an intern, you do not expect people well into their career to listen and value what you say. When that happens, it motivates you to prove those people right. Ontario pairs this corporate culture with a hands off leadership style that promotes self-motivation and personal responsibility. These two elements foster a desire to be a craftsman no matter what your job is.
IIN: Why did you choose to complete an internship?
Hammock: I felt as though I needed to gain professional experience before graduating college. I knew that I would learn about the areas I would want to specialize in, and the types of jobs for which I would want to apply.
IIN: What is a major project you completed?
Hammock: The Gross Margin Report I build is a financial model that is fully automated, incredibly flexible, and includes almost all of our company’s most important gross margin related information from 2015-present. The report has 10 tabs that each have one pivot table. Each tab shows a different picture of the financial performance of the company. It also includes budget data which allows for actual versus plan comparison. Buy-in did not come easily, but after seven months of constant improvement, the Gross Margin Report is used daily by top managers to help make decisions and by the Finance department to analyze the company’s financial activity.
IIN: What are your plans and goals post-graduation?
Hammock: After the internship concluded, I stayed on part-time at Ontario while I finished my degree. I was fortunate enough to be offered a full-time position beginning after graduation. I hope to eventually get into small and medium size business consulting. I would like to use my analytics skills and growing strategic knowledge to help business managers know what they need to make well-informed decisions.
IMPACT Awards Intern of Year nominees, Megan McKinney and Mason Hammock, from Ontario Systems.
So proud of you.