Week 8 - 3/3/08 - 3/7/08

This week was a little slow to start but on Wednesday picked up to levels that I could not even imagined. I was at my desk doing routine Returns for my boss when I got a call from my boss's desk saying that the entire office needed to be cleaned up and organized because someone was going to me coming through that has never been here before. I was informed that Jay-Z, rapper, CEO, entrepreneur, was about to come through the office for a tour. Jay-Z is probably my most listened to and favorite artist of all-time. My heart immediately started to race and I became nervous and frantic. I told my boss my relationship with Jay-Z music and all he said to me was stay focused. He kept reiterating this to me telling em that no matter what, act professional and stay on my job. The minute Jay-Z walked into the office i was star struck. I was almost in a stare when he walked in the door. What stuck out the most to me was that I was not the only one. People much older than me not knowing who Jay-Z was were still in a frantic as well. This made me realize that respect for this man, even though they ddi not really know who he was, came from money. Jay-Z was pampered and shown around Under Armour like no other person to this point i believe. He was given the upmost respect because of the amount of money and fame that his man had. It showed me that money and respect go hand in hand. Later that night I began researching the famous athletes and others who have been to under armour and I realized I was right, Jay-Z had been the wealthiest man to ever step foot in Under Armour.

Week 7 - 2/25/08 - 2/29/08

My main task of the week was to research and create case studies for the company's CEO Kevin Plank to give to the marketing team as motivation following his big speech last week. I was told to create three different case studies where a smaller and inferior company gave pressure to or overthrew a larger more established company. I went with researching Apple vs. Microsoft, Lowes vs. Home depot, and Sony vs. Microsoft for gaming systems. I was originally told by my boss that this need to be done by the wend of the week. I started to work on this assignment Tuesday thinking I had all week to complete this until I got a phone call telling me that this needed to be done by tomorrow. This caused me to make important sacrifices outside of work that I really did not want to do. I had to be in to work on Wednesday at 1 and it was already 9 p.m. on Tuesday. That next morning I was forced to skip class to get this assignment into Kevin Plank by 2 p.m. I was put under all of this pressure simply because I didn't not prepare right when I got the assignment and I put it off until the middle of the week. This gave me a valuable lesson that has been affecting my life since middle school. Putting this off has been my biggest problem and now I did this once again but in a situation where I could lose my job. I obviously got the assignment in on time but not without skipping class and doing a less detailed job. This situation reminded my that my priorities in life sometimes may be backwards where play comes before work.

Week 6 - 2/18/08 - 2/22/08

This weeks focus was on the company meeting at the DH where the launch of "The New Prototype" campaign would finally be seen by the entire company of Under Armour at once. The meet held about 1,200 employees that would be addressed by Kevin Plank our CEO and owner. He showed off the commercial that would be shown for the first time at this year's Super Bowl as well as the focus of the campaign, release dates of the new "Performance Trainer" shoes, and different aspects and projections for the year to come. This meeting Was the closest thing I've ever been to a real company meeting. It showed me how generous and how genuine of a person Kevin Plank is to his company. Kevin made promises such as a raise for all of his how employees, a personal pay cut to himself, and reinsured that the bonus that everyone was promised from last year is now on its way. The company cheered and everyone was now in good spirits and ready to make Under Armour even bigger with this release. I felt as though Kevin used some amazing tactics in his speech that made the company and its employees  after that meeting want to even work harder and better than they did in last year, the most successful year of Under Armour ever. Kevin used tactics of persuasion to motivate his employees. Kevin has proven himself to me as a influential and sincere person after that meeting.

Week 5 - 2/11/08 - 2/15/08

The highlight of this week was the intern's trip to the DH, or "Distribution House" where all of the product that is manufactured overseas get shipped to which would then be distributed to whom they go to. Our trip on Friday started at 1 and would last until 4. We had to do physical labor such as moving boxes, sorting hangers and mannequins, as well as tasks that we were not usually asked of us. This job because extremely tedious to the point where i wanted to quit for the day half way through. It made me realize a valuable lesson. In the job world just like in many other forms of society there is a hierarchy that one must follow to work his or her way up/ Our trip to the Dh simply occurred because we are lowest on the totem pole. We had to get this work done because others had more important, or more valuable work to do. We as interns need to know our role and do what is asked of us no matter what to work our way in to a full-time position. Later that night I found myself researching the hierarchy of jobs at Under Armour in an attempt to set goals of where I need to be in however many years working at Under Armour.

Week 4 - 2/4/08 - 2/8/08

This week, my main task was to mail out letters to potential clients stating that, "Their interest is appreciated and we will keep them in mind for future opportunities." I had to create letter with this information to each specific person/company and create labels that contain their addresses for the envelopes. This seemed simple enough and I told myself that I would be able to finish this in no time. All through my life my father had told me to stop rushing through things and pay attention to details. This was something I have struggled with since i was a child. I zipped through all of the letters sealing them and mailing them out in about an hour. I felt good about the accomplishment in short amount of time and was praised by Jeremy for completing this task in such little time. The next day Jeremy received an e-mail informing him that his letter that he sent to him was addressed to a different person than it was supposed to. Jeremy pulled me aside and told me that it'd not a big deal but that makes him look really bad. This was my first real mistake since i Started to work. I learned that rushing things to get them done does not always pay off and that I need to try to stop this. Later that night I called my Father and explained the situation and he gave me advice on how to correct this.

Week 3 - 1/28/08 - 2/1/08

My major task for this week was to prepare and create packages for the NFL Combine where top college athletes go and perform drills and tests to see if they are ready to be drafted to the NFL. This task was extremely exciting for me in that I get to see what the Brand department does to attract pro athletes for sponsorship from Under Armour. I was provided with apparel ranging from shirts to receiver gloves, where I had to fold the apparel neatly and organize them in a large duffel bag provided that will be sent out to 10 of the top college football players for the combine. This was by far the highlight of my week. The toughest part of this seemingly simple task was that I had to make sure the right stuff was marked off the list and in the proper bag, as well as had to make sure each bag was shipped to the right address with the right tracking numbers, and the right time of delivery. This taught me that I can't get caught up in the fun or excitement of certain tasks that this industry entails and I need to stay focused at simply the task at hand. The week wrapped up with a treat where I actually saw some of the players at the NFL Combine wearing the apparel I personally sent them. This made the tedious task pay off and I really felt as though I personally contributed to the success of Under Armour that day.

Week 2 - 1/21/08 - 1/25/08

Anticipation for this week could not of been higher. This was only my 2nd week and a lot was going to be asked of my in just this short period of time. I was the only intern of in the office for the entire week due to all the others being in Alabama for the Under Armour Senior Bowl. I had to take on the tasks of all 4 interns by myself and this made me a little nervous at first. In preparation for this, I read a few articles online regarding time management while at the work place. I felt this would help me prepare mentally for lots of tasks at once that would occur this week. From the time I stepped into the office on Monday, until the time I left on Friday, I was busy doing work that was expected previous to coming in on Monday. Some of these tasks included, Purchasing Orders, faxes, copies, lots of packages to mail, and letters to send out to clients. At Under Armour most communication is in the form of E-mail where tasks are requested from my boss as well as other employees for me to do. Obviously, much confusion can rise from contacting through e-mail that wouldn't happen face to face. My boss Jeremy asked me to do something simple like mail a package to an address that he provided in New York. I e-mail him back asking me if he wants this ground of overnight and I received a response back immediately. He scolded me telling me that why would he need to overnight something to New York when it only takes 1 day for ground, and to look at the map above me. He then told me that he didn't mean to be mean bu hes teaching me a lesson that the little things separate me from other interns. This was a lesson that I learned from Jeremy from the beginning that really has helped me excel. It's the little things that make a difference things such as tracking numbers, taking things into my own hands, and not asking every time I m not sure about something.