Internship Spotlight: Ruben Lopez, Spectrum Chemical Mfg. Corp.

Ruben Lopez '22 (BSBA Business Administration) is Vice President in Product Management at Spectrum Chemical Mfg. Corp.

What type of projects do you work on? 

Demand Planning, Product Launches, Technical Questions, Customer Pricing Tier Strategy

What is your favorite part of your job? 

Technical Questions as they enlighten me on new applications for our products in the pharmaceutical, R&D, cosmetic, and biopharmaceutical markets

How has your experience at Eller helped in your role?  It has helped me learn beyond my on-the-job training. My work experience before Eller was particular to our products and markets. 

Since Eller, I have acquired best practices and key terms/concepts that now apply to our marketing and sales practices.

What do you find most challenging?

The most challenging aspect of my work is the continual “high-level” dashboards that are frequent. Each sales channel, market analysis, or price strategy is required for an executive summary complete with dashboard visualizations. Excel’s bar graphs are no longer sufficient. Dynamic models that allow “what-ifs” have become the standard. Eller has taught me to use these tools, interpret them, and, more importantly, present them.

What advice do you have for other students looking for similar experiences?

Eller does an excellent job teaching concepts that have real-world impact, and those concepts find themselves woven into everyday tasks. When learning these concepts, try to apply them to existing business decisions and challenges. Even if you are not in a business role, these concepts apply to many consumers. The more you can relate lessons to everyday issues; the material will click and make sense. Relating lessons will allow you to commit course and learning objectives to long-term memory, making it more than a lesson but now a skill to continually sharpen and refine.

Anything else you would like to share?

Put the time in, it sounds preachy, but it comes down to your level of commitment. You will reap the reward if you set aside the time to do the homework, do the prep work, complete the assignments, and meet with your project teams. Coursework can be stressful, especially if you are working or have other commitments. Your effort level will be evident in your grades and the overall skills you take into your career.