Timing
The summer of my junior year in college was the perfect time to get work experience, and I was looking forward to it. I got an offer to work for Amazon in Spokane, WA. At the same time, I had to train to race at the European Championships, which were held just two weeks after I finished the internship, and coastal rowing worlds later in September.
GU Boathouse, Spokane river, WA
Training
Stanford provided me a boat (1x) and I got in quality training. Thanks to the rowing team, I received permission to use Gonzaga University's facilities , located very close to my house. I did not have a team to train with at the location I was at, which entailed no coaches, no teammates, no athletic trainers... and still working out twice per day; 6am and 7:30pm. Each session was normally 1-2h.
Work
During the first three weeks my schedule was variable, ranging from 8 to 11h days. At Amazon, I was in charge of organizing a team of 50 associates to achieve maximum performance, meet daily targets and assist them. In addition to that, I did research to work on my intern project on how to help Amazon reduce its carbon footprint .
U23 Europeans
I got funding for the trip to Poland and planned the entire thing myself (flights, lodging, transport...). I was the only person from Spain attending the event, so I traveled only with two more people.
I ended up placing 4th in the women's single sculls, in an event I hadn't raced in 3 years.
Remarks
I had a great time learning and thriving in a new environment. It was a peculiar experience for many reasons. As opposed to training camp or school where housing logistics are arranged for you, I lived in an apartment and handled meal prep, grocery shopping, cleaning, and bills. Moreover, it was the first time I witnessed the corporate sphere from the inside, operated with real data and put into practice classroom learnings.
Coastal Rowing Worlds Podium,
Oeiras, Portugal