Internship Spotlight – Taylor Deal, E. & J. Gallo Winery

Taylor Deal is a Management Information Systems/Operations Management major set to graduate in the spring of 2020.  This summer she interned for E. & J. Gallo Winery as a Business Systems Analyst in Modesto, California.  

How did you get this internship?

I applied for this internship through the Handshake application. I completed a set of 3 interviews: one pre-recorded video interview, one phone call interview, and one final in-person interview that I was flown out for at the headquarter location.

What was a typical day like?

My typical day at the office began at 7am and lasted until 5pm. I primarily analyzed data from Tableau reports, contacted users of these reports to determine which needed to be archived or updated in Microstrategy, and documented their data relationships within SQL queries. I also analyzed customer data in SalesForce, updated any data mismatch errors within our system, and edited data mismatch descriptions within the Microsoft Visual Basic code to make it easier for our team to see exactly what needs to be updated.

What was your favorite part of the experience?

My favorite part of this internship experience was the culture at E&J Gallo Winery. Every person I met was extremely helpful and inclusive in terms of getting background information on my project, as well as expanding my network by connecting me with other full time employees at the company. The IT intern coordinators set up weekly meetings for all of the interns to get together and share their experiences and get to know each other. We also practiced our project presentations at these meetings, which made the final presentation in front of the Senior IT Leadership team much easier. Overall, this internship prepared me for a career in IT and developed my professional persona on a much deeper level outside of school.

If you worked on a big project, please describe it below:

Upon my arrival at orientation day, I was paired with a manager who gave me a main project to work on for the summer. I worked on evaluating outdated Tableau Marketing reports by analyzing and documenting their data structures, and by meeting with report users to determine which reports needed to be archived or updated on a new data visualization tool platform (Microstrategy). I also worked on a second project related to data migration and validation for newly acquired brands in our system. I updated customer information within the Salesforce application, as well as the code behind the validation processes in Microsoft Visual Basic, by creating additional detailed descriptions of data mismatch errors.

What did you find most challenging about your internship?

The most challenging part of my internship was familiarizing myself with new software and applications. Every company uses different software, and I spent about three weeks taking courses and studying the software I was analyzing data within, in order to fully understand the processes behind what I was working with. These courses take time, but they are incredibly essential and helpful in understanding the background of the project I was working on.

What advice do you have for other students looking for a similar internship?

I recommend being open to change. Every company culture is different and it takes time to adjust to a new way of working and thinking. Adapting to a new environment and new technologies is an essential skill that I learned, and it is ultimately what helped me progress and excel throughout this internship.

How did Eller prepare you for your internship?

Eller provided me will an excellent base of knowledge around communication and technical skills for this internship. Eller exposed me to various essential software and applications that I both drew knowledge from and applied while working on my projects at this company. The communication and presentation skills I gained at Eller were extremely helpful in successfully completing my final presentation for the Senior IT leadership team towards the end of the summer at E&J Gallo.

Did your internship employer provide housing or transportation assistance?

Housing – my employer provided resources for me to secure housing and/or find a roommate

Transportation – My employer provided transportation or financially supplemented my transportation during the internship