Global Spotlight: Abigail Greenwell '26 Intern

Abigail Greenwell '26 (BSBA MIS & OSCM, Minor in Global Business) interned at Creoate in London, England.

If you worked on a big project during your internship, please describe what you did to help. 

I created a template to consolidate shipping data across multiple platforms and analyze that data for key metrics such as shipping lanes, excessive costs, most popular categories, carrier costs, etc. This was an 8-week long project that included lots of extractions of raw data, research into tariffs and customs for multiple countries, trial-and-error, and cleanup. In my final week I used this template, developed on a batch of our most recent data, to analyze all of our historical data. I was able to find insights into which lanes cost us the most, what types of charges are most common, where we might be overcharging, etc. Seeing my work be used to make real-world decisions was very satisfying and I’m proud to know that I created something that the company can continue to use to make recommendations in the future. 

What did you find most challenging about your internship? 

I found connecting with my coworkers and other interns most challenging. I believe this is because due to a visa mistake, I was required to work remotely for the first two weeks of my internship, so I missed out on a lot of the initial team-building within my company. When I finally made it back to the office I was a little overwhelmed by everyone having lunch at one big table and chatting and wasn’t sure I was invited to the after-work drinks since I hadn’t been added to the office group chat yet. It took me a few weeks, but I grew to enjoy the noise of the office and talking to my coworkers while getting coffee or going to lunch.

What advice do you have for other students that are also considering interning abroad? 

Interning abroad is very nerve-wracking and complicated to organize, but it’s completely worth it. Living abroad will provide you with so many insights into how others live, do business, how diversity differs wherever you go, international politics, and the importance of globalization. Learning how to adapt to different cultures will serve you well both personally and professionally, whether that culture is a new workplace or a new country. The biggest problem is you’ll have to leave thinking “how soon can I get back?” 

How did Eller (or your previous coursework) prepare you for your internship?

I was actually pleasantly surprised with how many applications and concepts I’ve been introduced to in Eller were utilized in my internship. My last internship felt very basic compared to the tasks I did here. I mainly used Google Sheets and Tableau and found myself to be very grateful that I had been introduced to Tableau in the past. I also had the occasional opportunity to use Python and SQL. There was a situation where I had to convert website xml data into a csv to use it for analysis and I was the only one of the team familiar enough with Python to even be willing to try and figure it out. I found myself appreciating the fact that I’ve been given introductions to all of these programs so most of my job is adding to my skillset instead of introducing myself to it.