Amazon Sized Dreams
FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Rob Hahn was speechless - probably not the best reaction when you've just been told you got the job - but what could he do? He had just beat out five Indiana University students for an esteemed internship at Amazon.com, the nation's largest online retailer."When she told me, I just sat there," said Hahn, a senior at Huntington University who completed a 10-week internship at the company's fulfillment center in Whitestown, Ind., just outside of Indianapolis, during the summer. "It was hard for me to form words. I told the lady, 'Hold on. I have to let this sink in for a minute.' "
It was the second internship during his college career, but it was the first in a career he hopes will be lasting.
"I do believe that this internship has allowed me to see how fun and challenging operations can be," said Hahn who was one of six finalists - out of thousands - who had applied for the job.
Hahn, a Whitehouse, Ohio, native, is a business management and entrepreneurship/small business double major at Huntington. He said it was his experiences at Huntington that prepared him so well to work in the field.
"I feel that the education that the business department has provided and the knowledge they have blessed me with has given me the opportunity to learn even more," he said. "I learned the basics in the classroom, and now that I am in real situations, I can grasp the concepts and quickly turn them into results. It has really solidified my belief that I am right where I am supposed to be."
Student body president during his junior year, Hahn is ambitious by nature so it is no surprise that he sought an internship at one of the most highly respected operations agencies in the business. He liked their core values, and they liked his work ethic.
"I really enjoy operations. I think I'm unique in that," Hahn joked.
"This (was) an opportunity to learn a market where I think the whole world is going - which is digital - and they are the best at it," he added.
In his position at Amazon.com, Hahn spent a lot of time on the floor, helping move shipments in and out of the facility.
"The biggest surprise (was) the magnitude and relevance of my first project. I was given a project that needed to be solved and implemented immediately," he said. "I am working on real projects that will affect not only the people in this building, but will affect customers all over the United States."
And as Hahn returns for his senior year at HU, he hopes to use his experiences to benefit his classes as well as those around him.
"Through my internship, I realized how valuable my education can be," he said. "I just want to learn as much as I can my senior year."
