Category: Amy

As compared to other interns’ experiences, I would say that my performance was excellent with Axis. The entire summer, I was given the large task of restructuring the website through client research and data collection, along with smaller tasks such as preparing presentations and working with reports. That is vastly different than the typical business intern experience of being either a coffee runner or a warm body in a chair to do meaningless tasks. Although I did not earn an official wage within Axis, I would say that I earned my keep along with the other experienced employees. The only room for growth would be to gain more experience through specific tasks throughout the organization. My production rate was excellent along with my dedication to the task. The only thing I can speak for is having more types of diverse experience, and that will only come with time and other tasks. 

I feel that it has put my aspirations and growth in alignment. I finally was able to travel internationally in the name of business, and having this experience is a giant leap toward my lifelong goal of consulting internationally. I wish to assist people and be able to travel across vast lands in search of that journey, Axis has provided the benchmark for at least working for an international company. I also strongly feel it has shown the experience for striving personnel of Florida Women In Business, which is an organization on campus that I’m an active participant of. This internship will benefit my future career as it already shows my interest in international business with a willingness to work for it.

The key takeaways that I could say is that you only have one life on this Earth. If it’s a priority to see every part of it before your time is up, then make it not only part of your goals, but your mission to align it with either your personal life or career. Working diligently and building important relations with clients, employers, employees, and other figures throughout life will not only help you succeed, but also will introduce you to a variety of characters. I feel more in touch with not only myself, but the world in a whole. This journey is not complete yet as I feel like I’m finally breaking free.

Out of all the moments I have had at Axis so far, my proudest moment was presenting to the CEO and my supervisor alongside my fellow interns. We were assigned to research and create a presentation about additional features and benefits for a client’s app to increase engagement and retention of their app. Having the ability to collaborate with the other interns from different backgrounds was interesting because you can see how their ideas reflected what each culture felt was most important to the consumer. This process allowed me to see that most of the world have very similar values. We are all much more similar than we are different. Another interesting aspect to this project was the amount of responsibility we were given, the project was assigned last minute as they needed it for the client in a rushed deadline of three days. Within those accelerated three days, we brainstormed ideas, researched, and consolidated all the information into a presentation that impressed not only our superiors but the client as well. 

This project was one of my first in the office, it really proved to myself that I can rise to the occasion and this is my biggest professional accomplishment. There will be many other opportunities I’m sure as my superiors have seen potential in my work. This could partly be due to my drive along with the radiating “can-do energy” that people have reflected upon me. As I have stated in the previous few journals, I feel that one of my biggest accomplishments will be the satisfaction of completing the data entry and revamping the website. Working on a project so diligently over an extended period of time with a large impact is something that shines out not only to my management staff but to myself as a personal achievement. I’m glad that I stuck it out the entire way with the project and I have something to show for it. 

After living and working for two months in Vietnam, I really did fall in love with the culture and the lifestyle of Vietnam as well as South East Asia. This experience has left me breathless and wanting to see more of the world. There is so much to offer in such small locations spread out across the Asian countries and I want to experience all of it one day. HCMC has left a large impact on my life in several months as compared to the rest of my life in the states. It has given me perspective on other cultures and their values compared to American consumerism. It has taught me that there is kindness across the world, even in the most unexpected places. I don’t want to give up searching for it, I’m finally just getting started on this journey.

This summer is a learning experience in its entirety, whether or not it’s in the aspect of travelling to a country across the world on my own venture, discovering foods throughout an unknown language barrier, or taking a step into a well-developed company in a thriving industry. I’ve learned mainly on how large firms are organized and run through their research and reports. Everything in this industry in data-driven; that revelation is not as surprising as I had thought originally due to the fact that consumerism is run off research. 

A company is just like anything else: it’s only as strong as its weakest link. In this aspect, the only weakness that could be described for Axis is the fact that it’s not as established of a company due to its age. In Vietnamese culture, it is a relatively old company and has survived the period in which growth is essential for survival, but it is still relatively new on an international scale. However, to combat this, we have signed bigger named clientele to back up the firm. Such companies include power names such as Michelin, Vietnam Airlines, Syngenta, and others. There are many opportunities for growth as we provide excellent research and reports for our current clients, word of mouth is the fastest way to earn business in the industry. As research-based marketing isn’t a common service in surrounding areas, there aren’t many threats that exist. It seems that the market would be vast enough to share across several firms. 

It was a day unlike any other in Vietnam, very humid as the heat trickled throughout the ambient atmosphere. Although this wasn’t our typical region of Vietnam in Saigon, we had travelled to the Golden Bridge in Da Nang to experience the sheer structural wonder. Two hands support the bridge with their gentle palms open, overhanging a breathtaking mountainside. I suppose the symbolism in this consists of our lives being held from a drastic fall in the hands of a concrete giant; things such as this are truly beautiful moments to live in and definitely one of the best in my life. 

As we’ve now finished the fifth week on our journey through the wonderful country called Vietnam, experiences flow through our week like the scooters in the streets. In the Axis office where I spend most of my days, I try to keep myself busy and going. The most challenging aspect is maintaining the focus on a task for each infinitesimal detail as well as finding the balance of moving around to not allow myself to become comfortable on a single aspect of work. There are many benefits, as the saying goes: learn until you become dangerous. Running through the accounts for the website development, I’ve learned a fair amount more outside of the classroom on how companies operate and grow. The company challenges more than my abilities as an employee: they give me levels of responsibility in tasks that challenge my maturity, commitment, and drive. And I’m willing to take on all of it. 

The best features of Axis as I’ve stated before are the personal relationships in which I’ve developed for my coworkers. I may have gotten lucky enough to work with some of the kindest individuals possible. At one point two weeks ago, I felt sick with a head cold, my supervisor insisted to take the entire day off for rest and relaxation. With other supervisors, that would be fairly rare, especially in America. The only previous experiences I’ve had was with a family owned Italian restaurant. The owners were caring in the same aspect as they maintained the family feel of a business; although the supervisor was not nearly as kind. 

There are many foods that I’ve discovered in Vietnam, mostly on the account that I can’t understand what the menu says, and it’s difficult to single out a favorite. Although I’m on an impossible task throughout Vietnam to find a very common thing in America, which is one of my favorites: a Snickers Bar. It seems as though in Vietnam, the Snickers are at least an inch shorter than in the United States. If I had to single out to Vietnamese culture, I’d go with Com Tam. A delicious dish that contains seared pork chops on top of rice and noodles, complemented by egg, cucumbers, and other traditional vegetables. 

I’ve been continuing with my data translation for the market research report. At times, it can feel like a tiring process but as we all know, data is an essential aspect of research, trends, and most importantly: making results. I love the miscellaneous tasks that I’m assigned with such as making PowerPoints and taking a break from analyzing the intense spreadsheet of clients. My goal for the remainder of the internship to finish the entries so that the new website can be polished off. Another pertinent task that I hope to accomplish for the remainder of the internship is to assist the company in launching a new service provided through their website to promote translators for individuals who do not speak the language, I’ll explain it more throughout the journals as our progress develops.

One thing that I am appreciative for working with Axis is the relationships I have developed with my fellow coworkers and supervisors. We are a proactive team working towards the same goal of benefiting the company with an excellent work ethic. A surprising aspect that I’ve seen contrary to the rest of Vietnamese culture is the accompanying soft skills of the management staff towards clients and their employees. Mae invited Alejandro and me to a personal outing; she insisted for us to go out to karaoke following a home-cooked lunch at her residence. Her invitation shows not only a level of trust for us as entry employees, but also a level of friendship that I can appreciate.

On a humorous note, I’ve learned that Vietnamese culture loves karaoke. It’s ironic that such a culture that is very reclusive in the social aspect, i.e. not smiling during eye contact or holding a conversation with strangers, loves to let loose and sing. I’ve also learned how to successfully cross public roads now without feeling like Frogger. I initially believed that I was good at evading traffic during my semesters at the University of Florida; however, this has refined my skills for sensing the presence of an imminent scooter accident. It is usually a dangerous task in Vietnam to make way across the street as many citizens are in a hurry to their destination and don’t necessarily care to stop. It really shows that there is clarity in the chaos as everyone manages to get through the traffic unscathed.

Mae Catibog is the Research Manager for Axis Research Group for the last year. She is originally from the Philippines and recently moved to Vietnam three years ago, where she worked in a start-up digital marketing firm. She finds that the experiences at Axis will be very beneficial for professional development due to the various projects that she works on and the wide array of clients. Since she is one of the few employees that speak English, she is in charge of Social Research, Scientific Research, Ex-Ante and Ex-Post Research, Qualitative Research, and Digital Technology Solutions. She is a very impressive young woman, but I’m so grateful to have her as my supervisor. Mae is the person that lights up the room with her smile and killer sense of humor regardless of the stressful setting the office can become. Aside from her outgoing and laid back personality, she listens to us, the interns, and provides us with opportunities for our professional growth. This also is apparent in her personal life as she resists the norms placed on her based on her culture and follows her dreams even when most people won’t.

As for my role with an internship with Axis, I am a Research and Technology Assistant. My responsibilities include assisting our Research department with brainstorming project for potential clients as well as technology development by adding to the company website. Some of the projects I work on are app developments, feature and benefits analysis, and video editing. My favorite part of the day is the small moments throughout the day where everyone in the office has conversations, where we can learn about everyone outside of their responsibilities, this especially occurs during lunch.

As much as Vietnam is an enriching culture, the only thing I have been surprised by is how welcoming and friendly Vietnamese people are to Americans. Whether it’s my coworkers showing me around and recommending things to do, or when strangers make an effort to communicate with me even though I have limited knowledge of their language. Considering all the history between our countries, I am always slightly taken back that still are very open to us. Otherwise, Vietnam is a beautiful country with beautiful people, where the only issue I run into is that I cannot read the signs. Even if you’re lost, it’s still an adventure.

As the first week has come to a close, I have never been more excited to see where this internship will take me. The company I am working for is Axis Research Group as Marketing Research and Technology Assistant. Axis Research Group is a full-service marketing research agency. They offer Business to Business and Business to Consumer services such as business research, consumer research, retail surveys, consulting services, marketing services, and market research. My responsibilities as Marketing Research and Technology Assistant are to assist in desk researches to set benchmarks while observe and learn the stages of market research projects, to assist and develop a marketing plan for TEEGOE: translating project, and to join in brainstorming sessions for app developments.

After the company and industry orientation with my supervisor, I began my first project of encoding market research reports as a part of the new company website development. I love that the work I am doing matters and that my company trusts me enough to give me these opportunities, even though this is my first professional internship. The next day, the interns continued our work on the company website, but due to an error with the website servers, it ended up deleting all of our previous 130 entries. On the bright side, it led us to join our supervisor, Mae, and our boss, Mr. Minh to brainstorm over a new app that our company is creating and potential app development for one of our clients. Mae originally planned that we create research outline presentation for her and Mr. Minh, but due to Mr. Minh meeting with the client on Friday, it had to be a refined presentation that he could show to the client. Just within the first week, you can see I had to adapt to the changing workload and responsibilities, but I love it because I’m never bored and it keeps me on my toes.

Despite the office only has 25 employees, the company is very efficient and influential since they have a wide array of clients from Pepsi to local Vietnamese businesses. This shows that everyone’s voice matters due to the open office setting, horizontal structure, and familial environment. This was very empowering, not only as an intern but also as a female businesswoman, since the majority of the office are female employees. I am so excited to see what I will learn from my time with Axis and the relationships I will build along the way.

As the days ticked away, I found myself on my first international flight to the other side of the world and surprisingly it felt normal. Even from my initial welcome to Vietnam was the humidity as I left the airport, but compared to Florida, it felt like a sauna. Within the first week of being here, I have seen so much and I’m excited for the experiences that will happen over the course of this program.

In the first day of our tour, our group of students from the UF in Vietnam program saw the War Remnants Museum. I was really appreciative to have this activity as our first stop of the day because it was very culturally informative. During my visit, I learned the Vietnamese perspective of the War, and it laid all the facts out there about America’s involvement. Despite the millions killed and the damage that was done, the locals that were also visiting the museum still treated us in a polite and friendly manner. It felt like I was in a contradiction, even though the history between our countries, we all are considerate of each other now.

This was also present in our trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels, a South Vietnam underground tunnels and bunkers that were used during the war. It was an interesting feeling to crawl through the tunnels as a tourist when it had completely different intentions over 40 years ago. To experience history outside of the textbook made me find a new appreciation for that era. The whole trip was very eye-opening again as the locals that were also visiting would take pictures with us as we entered the tunnels. Reminding me how far the relationship between the United States and Vietnam has progressed.

Overall, Vietnam is a beautiful country with friendly people, delicious food, and exciting atmosphere is my first impression. While the week-long class installed the same ideas, I did not know to what extent they would reach. But I feel that these impressions definitely surpassed my expectations. And I wondered what awaits for me in the next couple weeks, but I want to learn about Vietnamese way of life, Vietnam’s growing economy and its impact on their culture, as well as how the locals manage to intake so much coffee and caffeine.

With the program about to start in a few weeks, the one skill that has been and will continue to be a challenge through my life is my adaptability. As a first generation student, I am very excited about this opportunity to study abroad. I honestly never thought I would ever leave Florida, let alone be in another country over 9,000 miles away from home. After the previous Beijing program falling through, I really appreciate all the effort of Jason put into finding another solution by continuing the program just in a different location. Throughout this week of learning about Vietnam, I was fascinated by their culture, their history, and their future.

Overall, the surprising part of the class this week was learning about Vietnams’ paradoxes. Despite that their culture is thousands of years old, it is a very young country as it was reunified in 1975. This reflects in one of the intriguing aspects of Vietnam: their beliefs. Even though the Vietnam War occurred in recent history, many Vietnamese do not have an emotional connection to the war since the majority of their population are under 50 years old. Despite the communist government winning and reunifying the country, capitalism ends up prevailing as their economic development has reached new heights. I find this ironic because America’s reason for the war was to stop communism from spreading and results in the Vietnamese liking capitalism more than Americans.

One cultural similarity between the United States and Vietnam is their openness to others. Both cultures had immigration and colonization a part of their histories and that reflects in their cultures. While both countries have a primary language that is spoken, there are nuances based on where in the country you are from. For example, the north part of Vietnam has six tonal sounds while the south has four. Also, the people of the United States and Vietnam are likely to speak and comprehend more than one language due to the variety of people they interact with. This is in the result of the United States has a long history of immigration, Vietnam has a long history of colonization. One cultural difference between the United States and Vietnam is their beliefs about relationships. The United States is based on individualism, while Vietnam is based on collectivism. Vietnam emphasizes family or the group over individualistic desires, unlike the United States.

I feel that these cultural aspects will have a lot of influence as I will experience personal and professional growth over my next eight weeks in Vietnam. Since both cultures are openminded, there will be many opportunities to meet new people and build an international network. As for the differences, will be an interesting challenge to balance my individualistic culture as I immerse myself in a collectivist culture. Especially in the business world, where Americans have to be self-reliant and come up with their own process to their work, where Vietnamese follow the orders of their superiors and do not question them.