BAF
(summer 2021)
This summer I worked at Big Ass Fans - yes, that is their real name. And yes, the fans we create can be huge. Jokes aside, this experience has been unmatched; I was one of twelve new interns during their first year of a formal internship program. I worked on the Firmware Engineering team, specializing in software and working closely with the automated testing team.
The other interns and I outside in the Field of Fannys!
Starting off, I had a novice-level understanding of Python, and was brand new to Version Control like Git and GitHub. From the first day, I realized this was going to be a summer full of learning, so I brought in a dedicated notebook to keep track of everything I learned. It ended up massive - with notes on Git, Python brainstorming, meeting notes, and far more. Here's an example:
Here's an example of the notes I took during my time at BAF. This is one of 17 pages!
One of the most valuable lessons I learned during my time at BAF was surprisingly not the technical skills I gained; rather, it was the conversations I was able to have with extremely successful members of the company. After a company-wide acquisition meeting by Madison Industries, I debated between whether or not it'd be wise for myself, as an intern, to try and speak with the CEO and CFO of their Indoor Air Quality division. However, I ended up doing it and got to hear and learn personally from two businesspeople leading one of the world's largest privately owned companies. That was just the beginning, too.
After that, it hit me that the CEO of BAF itself, Lennie Rhoades, is just an email and an elevator ride away. I sent an invitation to sit down and talk about his path to running a business. Worst case scenario, I continue work as usual! Yet again, I was met with open arms; we set a meeting time, I wrote up a full page of questions to grill him on, and off I went. What was planned to be a 30 minute Q&A turned into over an hour of a profound look into what it takes to go from an intern to a CEO. I got my pre-planned questions answered, but more importantly I was able to listen and learn about things like the value of creating value, and balancing curiosity, competition, and challenge. One of my biggest takeaways is the idea that success is shaped like a spiral: one builds a strong, core area of skill, but then adds more and more value surrounding that skill, growing far beyond just the initial beginnings.
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Beyond this, I also got the opportunity to speak with BAF's International Vice President, Jenny Warnick. During our two meetings, I got to hear her point of view as a former lawyer now working in executive-level business. Once more, we flew through my original questions and quickly moved on to her own thoughts and advice. My biggest takeaways were over big picture ideas on being successful in one's career: things like tackling similar issues from different lenses - like from a legal to an business perspective - and using both to serve the situation at hand; or like learning that even far down the road in my own career, keeping an open mind to unfamiliar opportunities is an asset.
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The overarching theme of this internship proved to be unprecedented growth, whether learning a new programming language, or speaking with those in some of the highest positions in the company. I have full confidence that both of these areas, as well as everything else I learned in this time, will serve me well in my future career endeavors.