在这个感恩节里，我特别感激我在过去的四个不可思议的星期里所获得的一切. For that brief period, I had the great fortune of being a Barry-Wehmiller intern.
但是，当其他和我一起工作的实习生称巴里-韦赫米勒敬爱的首席执行官为Mr. Chapman or Bob, he will always be Bobby to me.
Bob Chapman is my grandfather. 作为和他同名的人，以及他22个孙子中的老大，鲍比和我一直有一种特殊的联系. When I was younger, 7月4日，外围十大菠菜app全家和祖父母一起在阿斯彭度过了独立日假期，我“帮助”鲍比驾驶拖拉机，把外围十大菠菜app全家拉在干草车上穿过游行队伍. Most mornings, 博比和我六点醒来，他等着我穿上蛙式雨靴，然后冒险去围场喂马，而其他人则继续在床上做梦.
多年来，外围十大菠菜app的关系已经适应了外围十大菠菜app繁忙的日程安排，但外围十大菠菜app总是通过电子邮件保持密切联系, texts, phone calls and occasional visits. When I was growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, 鲍比在参观附近巴里-韦米勒的一家工厂时，总是把顺道拜访作为头等大事. Each time he visited, 他和外围十大菠菜app家一起吃晚饭，了解外围十大菠菜app生活的最新进展.
At the beginning of my senior year in high school, Bobby came to visit once again, but this time we had two reasons to celebrate. The first was my acceptance to Columbia University in New York City. Although Bobby was incredibly proud of me, 我记得他非常坚定地告诉我，我不应该让学校定义我，并鼓励我寻找人生的目标.
从那时起，外围十大菠菜app的许多讨论都围绕着确定我的职业道路展开. 第二个令人兴奋的消息是《外围十大菠菜app》一书的出版. 鲍比对他的公司感到自豪，并有机会通过这本书讲述它的故事，这令人难以置信地鼓舞人心，激发了我对巴里-韦米勒社区的兴趣.
During my freshman year at Columbia, Bobby made frequent visits to New York for meetings with the publisher. 他经常邀请我参加这些会议，因为在外围十大菠菜app谈论我的未来时，我承认我对编辑很感兴趣. Unfortunately, I was never able to join him in an actual meeting, but during one of our coffee dates, I shared that I was trying to figure out my summer plans. 他不经意地提到，我考虑在Barry-Wehmiller实习，在那里为这本书进行全面的准备和前期宣传.
To be honest, I expected an internship with Barry-Wehmiller to be somewhat dull. 在我的成长过程中，父亲经常从公司下班回家，感到筋疲力尽，对自己的角色不满意. 我无意中把这种态度与所有的办公室工作联系在一起，所以我认为BW的实习也会是一样的.
In retrospect, I can see how naive I was to believe that. 我在Barry-Wehmiller的实习经历是一段难以置信的独特而美妙的经历，我周围都是充满活力的人, ideas and happiness. 每天早上我走进办公室，每个人都和我目光接触，热情地向我打招呼. 那些我不认识也不认识我的人会走上前来自我介绍，这样第二天他们就可以直呼我的名字了. 在我去喝咖啡的路上，我会经过许多桌子，那里的同事正在互相询问他们的家庭和周末的计划. This didn’t seem like the boring, quiet office that I used to visit with my father when I was younger; the Barry-Wehmiller office was teeming with energy and productivity.
我有机会与图书团队以及其他几个项目一起工作. And even though I was an intern with no experience, I was always considered an equal voice in the conversation. 我经常受到鼓励，并感到非常自在地提出自己的想法和意见. From day one, 他们扩大了对我的信任，相信我有能力决定完成所需工作的最佳方式，然后让我去做.
这段经历中最有价值和最令人惊奇的部分是与人员团队的每日接触会议. The 10-minute meeting, held first thing each day, 是为了快速分享每个团队成员的项目和需求而设计的，目的是提高效率，让每个团队成员都觉得自己从经验中得到了最大的收获.
Each meeting began with a segment entitled “Recognition & 庆祝”，团队成员在任何积极的事件中相互认可, like completing a project, helping out a friend in need, conducting a successful meeting, or even to say congrats on a new baby. 看到团队对彼此在工作和家庭中所做的贡献和成功的真诚感谢，这是非常鼓舞人心的.
As I reflected back on my time with Barry-Wehmiller, 我意识到我的实习是在一群真正关心我的朋友中间度过的, not just co-workers. Bobby intended to give me an experience that would help me find my dream career. 虽然我还不确定我要从事什么职业，但我得到了更有意义的东西. I gained a clearer picture of my purpose. 这次经历让我意识到，我想营造一个让每个人都感到受到尊重和重视，并渴望早上去上班的工作环境.
So in the spirit of the holiday season, I want to thank not only my grandfather, Bobby, for giving me the internship of a lifetime, 也感谢Barry-Wehmiller团队成员，让我接触到一个以人为本的工作环境. 无论我的职业道路走向何方，我都会带着这些经验，尽我所能，为我这一代的团队成员创造这样的环境.
If everyone could go to work and feel as appreciated as I did for those few weeks, we would live in a completely different world.