Stephen Root A’19 ’21, a management major, is participating in a for-credit internship remotely this summer with Amazon through UHart’s Charitable Giving Project team.
The project began when management at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Windsor, Connecticut, approached the University about creating student teams to develop a process for donating accumulated unsold third-party vendor returns (or equivalent merchandise) to regional charities. The UHart team is being co-advised by Barney School of Business Assistant Dean Kevin Sweeney and College of Engineering, Technology and Architecture Associate Dean David Pines. UHart students completed Phase 1 of the analysis this spring.
Since Stephen had already been working at an Amazon sortation center in New Jersey, he thought it would be a great fit to join the partnership project team to help local charities. Now working on Phase 2 of the project, Stephen and his teammates are being asked to analyze and map the process and develop a set of add-on processes and procedures to facilitate contributions to the charities. These processes also require the team to understand the charities’ donation acceptance procedures and logistics.
Stephen Root A'19 '21, a management majorDuring these tremendously rough times for everyone, goodness from people and companies that are able to help is going so much further.
“I have been thinking about my operations management class a lot during this internship as we try to come up with a more efficient system for Amazon to use to donate its unsellable products,” he says. “My favorite part of this internship is that I am helping people in need get access to products that Amazon wants to donate. I am very proud to be a part of a system that is connecting people in need with the supplies that help in their daily lives.”
Stephen, who is also working toward minors in marketing and project management, says he is excited to return to UHart this fall, with some classes online and some in-person. “I look forward to being able to work with my classmates and continuing my management education.”