I spent 3 glorious weeks with my host company, Novozymes. I learned an incredible amount in such a short period of time and made connections that wouldn’t have been possible without my internship. There was a huge learning curve during my time to grasp and understand the processes that occur at an enzyme manufacturing plant. Before going into this internship I knew enzymes were a catalyst for chemical reactions, but that was about it. I had no idea they were naturally occurring and even exist in our bodies, Novozymes find their first samples in differing environments around the Earth. I had great mentors within the company and everyone was willing to take time and share with me what their role was. During 2 of the 3 weeks of my time in Optimization, the building had a power outage, I did not let that deter me. I spent that time making connections outside of the building and reading on Lean Manufacturing.
I held interviews with people in varying roles in the company from marketing to warehouse management and I would always ask what were skills of importance for their position and when did they realize they were interested in that work. I have wanted to be a teacher since middle school because I had great teachers that made me feel of value and I loved the organization of school. Many people I spoke with also said a teacher along the way had inspired them too. To me this is one of the most powerful things I learned, that teachers can be the catalyst to a students’ confidence in pursuing a career. Teachers must remember to continuously build up our students and recognize their strengths, sometimes we are the only adults who can see our students for who they really are.
While reading “Everything I know About Lean I Learned in First Grade” I was able to make connections to organization within my classroom. Someone from the industry may look at the book and think of it as a way to explain Lean to their coworkers. From the perspective of an educator, it is a way to model what an efficient, productive, and progressive workspace should look like. Lean focuses on principles that we exhibit through classroom management. Being able to tie those principles back to what the industry is striving for gives our students a leg up in knowing what a good work environment looks like and ways to improve spaces they may occupy in the future.
My 3 weeks at Novozymes made me excited for the possibilities of my students’ futures. I can’t wait to get back to them and integrate all that I learned in ways that will help them feel confident about their future, in whatever career path they may choose. One thing I learned at Novozymes is that there is a role for everyone.
