A College Student’s Experience with EI

My name is Philip Arsenis and I am 20 years old. As a rising junior and politics major at Occidental College, an internship at Barnes & Conti Associates, Inc. seemed to be an ideal opportunity for this summer. With an interest in sales and consulting I knew this was my chance to get some serious experience. So, I applied and was then accepted. My immediate interest in the training programs paid off. I was given the opportunity to attend an Exercising Influence (EI) class, conducted by Janne at Kaiser Permanente.

The EI training was like nothing I had anticipated. It was more interactive, well researched, and more applicable then I had fathomed. As a college student I thought I would be out of the loop. On the contrary, I naturally identified with the problems, circumstances, and relations the Kaiser employees faced. During the class dialogs, everyone introduced issues that were unique to them. However, it was during these discussions that everyone’s different problems were constantly being answered in a more uniform way. Whether it was with the EI wheel or with real-life examples - it was always Kim’s tactics and strategies that seemed to quell every ‘different’ problem. It was then, about 45 minutes into the day, that it became clear that it was our common yearning to ‘get what we wanted done’ that really brought us together rather then having our unique problems which set us apart - we were all these to learn how to better our lives.

As an Occidental student, I feel that I am representative enough to speak on behalf of college students. We are constantly maneuvering social responsibilities, homework, and personal issues – and it gets hectic and overwhelming – as I am sure it does for the adults in the working world. However, there is one difference between college students and adults. Adults are more experienced.

This is precisely why I know that EI would be immensely beneficial to college students. It would equip us with the appropriate tools to tackle difficult situations from a professional angle without having to use the outdated sink or swim approach to life. As a young man trying to enter the adult work force, I know that there is nothing better then these tools, which can be applied to different situations at different times. They have enabled me to be an equal player as well as a leader. I recommend highly any and all college students who are serious about being an efficient communicator to take this class and learn the science of influence.

Written by Philipos Arsenis

Barnes & Conti in the Community - Confessions of a Teenaged Intern

This summer, Barnes & Conti was happy to host an intern from Girls Incorporated® of Alameda County. Girls Incorporated is a nonprofit organization that offers academic enrichment activities, skill-building programs, and counseling services services to girls and their families. Nadia Saephan joined us on July 9 as part of Girls Inc's Eureka! Internship program. These internships are designed to provide teen women (ages 14-17) with hands-on experience in various careers and business and to expose them to positive role models in those fields. Below is Nadia's description of her experience at Barnes & Conti.

Nadia and Ann Nguyen (Barnes & Conti's Finance Manager)

Nadia and Grace Boone (Barnes & Conti's Marketing Manager)

Being an intern at Barnes & Conti was more than just wonderful, it was a hands-on and life changing experience. I had the opportunity to do things that teenagers don’t usually get to do. I searched for various companies that Barnes & Conti would be able to train and help those businesses become better at what they do. I had to search for those companies in specific areas, such as Houston, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, Cleveland, Ohio and so on. I learned how to use the Excel Spreadsheet to record all of the information that I found during my research. I read numerous magazines based on bettering companies so that my sponsor can contact the author and get some information. I also looked for the email addresses/phone numbers for companies that attended a past conference so that B&C can contact. Last, but not least, I organized a schedule on Excel based on the hours that each employee work Monday through Friday. Who ever thought that I would be able to do things like that at this age?

It was a life changing experience to me because I was able to do a whole bunch of things and learn so much in so little time. Everything that is done is a life changing experience, in my point of view. The reason why I say that is because if it’s done, then we’re learning from it and it gives our life a little more experience & challenge. Barnes & Conti Associates has proven itself to be an excellent place to be an intern and show you what it’s like in the business world.

Grace Boone, Marketing Manager and my sponsor, was such a terrific person to work with. She’s a very understanding and helpful person. Grace always had a smile on, which made my day brighter. She assigned me many tasks to complete, but it wasn’t that bad. Those assignments actually taught me more about the B&C world, which is pretty interesting because I didn’t know anything about B&C when I first started. She helped me reach my understanding of this company and how it works and for everything that she has taught and shown me, I thank her.

I have gained so much knowledge during my past month at Barnes & Conti. I didn’t think that my experience here would feel like it did. Before my first day of interning, I had pictured my work here as typing papers onto the computer, which is crazily boring. But during the amazing time that I spent here, I realize that there’s more to a business company than just boring paper work. There are lots of things that need to be contributed in order to have an excellent business and Barnes & Conti has it all. There are the great people that I get to work with, the positive attitude in the work environment, being able to gain new and useful knowledge and last, but not least, having fun while doing something that doesn’t only impact me, it impacts the business as well.

Written by Nadia Saephan.

To learn more about Girls, Inc of Alameda County and their Eureka! Program, visit: http://girlsinc-alameda.org/programs/index.htm