Seattle: Coming home to a place I’ve never been before

I spent the past summer - from June to August 2015 – interning as part of the Retail Leadership Development program at Amazon in Seattle. I was working with the Canada Retail Team on reducing the amount of inventory that goes into markdowns. The project involved a lot of data analysis and number crunching but also innovation as we came up with new solutions to transform how the business works. Finally, I was able to witness and contribute to the huge “Amazon Prime day” event, an exclusive sales event for Prime members which turned out to be a major success. 

During my time at Amazon all of my work was directed at the impact that my project would have on Amazon’s customers and how to make them happy. That culture is a unique one and not many businesses adhere to the extreme standards that Amazon abides by when it comes to customer satisfaction; this aspect was a great learning experience for me. Apparently consumers aren’t the only ones that Amazon knows how to please: with the dog treat vending machines on each of the office floors, it is no wonder a lot of Amazon employees bring their dogs along to work daily. As a dog lover I enjoyed working on great ideas being surrounded by man’s best friend!

Making friends with Hunter in my cubicle space

Now to the best part of my internship experience: Seattle! Seattle for me was like “coming home to a place I’ve never been before.” I was living in Capitol Hill, one of the city's most prominent nightlife and entertainment districts. This neighborhood is known for its history of art and culture and is full of cafes and bars. On weekends, I nurtured the part of me that loves being outdoors: I went hiking at Mount Rainer; visited the San Juan Islands and watched orcas swimming in their natural habitat; I was able to camp by the Pacific Ocean; and also take weekend getaways to Portland and other neighboring cities. The awe-inspiring landscapes of the Pacific Northwest never ceased to amaze me.

The internship experience not only allowed me to apply a lot of the business concepts I studied during my first year in the MBA program at Georgetown University, but it also enabled me to experience one of the most amazing states in the USA. Most of all, I now come back refreshed and energized to start the second and final year of my studies here at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Taking in the view of Diablo Lake in the North Cascades in WA

Hany Salidis is an Egyptian Fulbrighter who is pursuing an MBA student at Georgetown University.

Iraqi Alumna Noha Andrios uses her Fulbright Experience Back Home

Upon concluding her Fulbright program at the University of Wisconsin – Stout where she earned a Master’s degree in Training and Human Resource Development, Iraqi Fulbright grantee Noha Andrios returned to her previous employer charged with ideas on how to improve the workplace and benefit her colleagues and community.

To that effect, and with support from her supervisor who saw the great added value, Noha started the process of establishing a Human Resources department at the Municipality of Duhok, where she works.

“This”, says Noha, “is going to help me greatly to put all the knowledge I got in the two years of Master Degree study in Training & HRD via Fulbright Scholarship to work.”

Noha was invited by the Human Resources Development Directorate in Erbil to present at a seminar attended by officials from various other Directorates of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). She was also asked to conduct a 2-hour training session at the Directorate of Tourism about employee evaluation. Both events went very well and Noha received positive feedback from the organizers and attendees. Noha also conducted a seminar about training and human resources development for officials from different directorates in Duhok and is scheduled to speak at a local radio show about the value of training and human resources development in the workplace.

When the Kurdistan Institution for Planning Administration which partners with the KRG’s Ministry of Planning started an effort to create a learning culture in all government offices within the KRG by launching a project called the “2025 Master Plan of Training”, Noha was among the top 20 trainers who were chosen from a group of 500 to launch this project in early 2016.

Whenever she presents at an event, Noha always makes sure to mention that “all the knowledge and the degree I got was only possible through Fulbright Scholarship. Fulbright changed my life and I am very grateful for it. Fulbright was gift from the Lord to me. “

Noha has much to be proud of in terms of what she managed to accomplish in the short time since her return to Iraq in mid-June to fulfill one of the Fulbright program’s important goals of spreading knowledge and giving back to one’s community.

Well done, Noha!

Noha Andrios is a Iraqi Fulbright alumna who completed a Master's in Training and Human Resource Development at University of Wisconsin – Stout.