My summer started pretty early. On April 22nd I was on a plane directed south. After 30 hours (I was lucky to find 3 open seats in a row and I actually slept on a flight for the first time in my life), and after seeing Dallas and Santiago, Chile, from the clouds, we landed in Asuncion, Paraguay. And by us I mean Jeff Baxter, soon to be nicknamed Compañero Jeff, and me.
After a couple of days in the capital we were “abducted” and found refuge in a wonderful little house in the middle of the jungle. We spent 4 weeks there: it was an incredible experience!
We had been blessed with a great education during our first year in the MBA; but even a greater blessing was to be able to apply these concepts and provide very useful suggestions for Fundacion Paraguaya. Fundacion Paraguaya is a non-profit organization whose ultimate purpose is to free people from poverty through work and business. In particular we consulted for their Agricultural School in Cerrito. They teach agricultural principles to teenagers and sell the outcomes of their work (vegetables, milk, cheese). They are struggling. We ran a deep analysis of their business and realized that their main and most pressing problem was the sales method. They weren’t reaching enough people because they didn’t have the right materials. They needed carts to help them carry their products and it was our desire to help them make the carts.
Jeff is an amazing engineer: do you think that for the team leader of the BYU racing car team (182 MpH!) it is too hard to build 3 carts? Well, without the right material and tools it was a challenge. But we made it! The 3 carts allowed them to touch between 200% and 300% of their customers in the same amount of time!
Time to say goodbye came soon and I flew back to Utah. But just for 2 days! Then a lone drive to Palo Alto, CA, where I started working for Apple, in its Applecare group—Global Commodity Management to be precise. It was challenging but fun. Apple is not how they describe it. It is better. They are super lean, fast, entrepreneurial, innovative and love their customers.
Of course if I talked about what I did I’d have a Job’s SWAT team blasting my door in 5-10 minutes... So all I will tell you is that they had an amazing cafeteria! Great food.
And Palo Alto weather? Are you kidding me? Constant 80 degrees? Made the swimming pool and the Jacuzzi in the complex so much more valuable.
The last week of my summer was a road trip back from California. I still don’t understand how we could drive (with two friends from Italy) for 2,500 miles in 8 days! Bay Area, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Muir Woods, Yosemite, Sequoia, Vegas (in bed at 9.30), Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, Moab, Arches, Monticello (ok we only slept there) and Provo. Awesome!
Antelope Canyon, AZ
In the end... a great ordinary MBA summer! You’ll hear many like mine. :)
Andrea Cordani, Supply Chain, Class of 2011
Interned at: Apple
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