Interns gain insights at 'development day'

Our summer interns recently participated in a all-day development workshop
that included reflection activities, an employee panel and social hour with leaders.

Aug. 12, 2019 — As our interns near the finish line of their time with Schwan's this summer, our leadership & development team is making sure each young professional gets the most from their time with us. With help from several employees throughout the organization, interns recently participated in a “development day” with the purpose of rounding out their overall learning and development journey this summer.


To kick off the day, Vice President of Talent Management Julie Thiel welcomed the interns and talked about authentic leadership at Schwan’s Company. Interns then attended a special session about “Leads Self: Knowing Yourself” coordinated by L&D Specialist Jennifer Hanson and Senior L&D Specialist Lisa Haen. During the session, interns participated in reflection activities focused on personal qualities, values, strengths, passions, career interests and development opportunities.

Interns also heard from a career-development panel that included Senior Financial Analyst Ryan Coyne (who started as a Schwan’s intern), PMO Project Manager Misty Sommerness and Director of Integrated Marketing Jessie Joslin.

The day capped off with a social hour at the corporate office in Bloomington, Minnesota. The social hour provided a networking opportunity for interns to reflect on the day’s activities with one another and meet with company leaders, including: Schwan’s Consumer Brands President Julie Francis, Executive Vice President of Business Services and General Counsel Brian Sattler, Executive Vice President of Schwan’s Global Supply Chain Tony Puri, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Scott Peterson, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Strategic Partner Solutions Carla Carver, President of Schwan’s Food Service Jacob Berning and Senior Vice President of Product Innovation and Development Stacey Fowler Meittunen.

Jennifer Hanson, who helps lead the intern program, thanked Michael Gunn and Deb Hey for preparing appetizers for the social hour with leaders.

The main goal of Schwan’s Company’s summer internship program is to provide meaningful learning and development opportunities so that interns can gain a better understanding of where they would like to take their careers. The program is mutually beneficial as it is also a primary driver of the company’s recruiting strategy for entry-level roles. When we invite them to join our internship program, we are also striving to provide the best possible on-the-job and development experience that will lead them to choose Schwan’s as their employer of choice upon graduation.

This year’s intern class includes Ali Asghar, Shannon Draeger, Noe Nunez-Marquez, Derek White, Ben Heichel, Joe Johnson, Elizabeth Lunn, Kimberly Rosenfield, Stephen Leon, Andrew Petersen, Matthew Nicholson, Cassidy Rettmann, Zac Rodeheffer, Madison Preiss, Matt Crain, Jenna Conzemius, Joshua Duchene, Megan Anderson, Samantha Swerdlow, Hunter Greshay and Omkar Bandal.