Week 4

This week was actually rather exciting for me, because I have really been able to delve further into my role at Free People. We started off the week with a “coffee chat” with Krissy Meehan-Mashinsky, who is the president of wholesale for Free People. She talked about her role within Free People and URBN (our parent company)  as well as the growth of Free People from 2002 (when she joined) as well as her pre-Free People experiences and then we were also able to ask questions. I thought it was really awesome that the people in charge of the intern program are able to set up these kinds of chats where we really get to learn more about the industry and company we are in, and it also is really amazing to be able to get some face time in with the higher execs to see perhaps where a career there could take you. I also think this meeting reiterates the open door policy I previously mentioned, that FP really is a place where everyone, even the execs are looking to help you succeed and find whatever your path is and is willing to just sit and talk with you. We have two more of these throughout the program so I’m sure I will touch upon this again when they come.

Beyond that, I have also started doing some newer projects, like a gross shipping projection that is sent out weekly to our specialty store teams to show them essentially all their clients and their purchases in the coming months versus what they were this time last year, and show how they’re doing in comparison. It was really cool to learn how to do this because it was one of the more challenging things I’ve done so it felt good to feel like I was doing something that not just any intern could do, and it also is exciting that I am being given the opportunity to actually run the numbers myself and have people rely on me for the information I’m compiling and passing along to them. Obviously, as an intern you aren’t always given the most responsibility so this is an exciting step that is allowing me to really learn more and understand more if this is something that perhaps I want to end up doing because thus far I’ve been really enjoying myself.