Aaron Doell
- Program Participant
- ORISE
School Information
School: Kansas State University
College Major: Business
Years at College Works: 2022
Career Information
Working For: ORISE
Title: Program Participant
Industry: Energy
Brief Description of Duties / Responsibilities:
Project manager apprentice
What Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?Playing “Taps” on the trumpet at my granduncle’s funeral.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
College Works Painting introduced me to my limits and pushed me past them.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
My College Works Painting experience has been a major talking point in every interview I’ve had while preparing to graduate. As much as it annoys me to talk about the same experience every interview, it is often of the applicable way to show my character under pressure.
What do you want to tell your clients about what it meant to work with them and how it has helped you get to where you are today?
My favorite client was between two: one was in Wichita and the other in Newton. What was common between them was the amount of time I got to talk to each of them. I got to know them somewhat on a personal level which resulted in a business relationship filled with a lot of grace. They were far more forgiving of my mistakes – of which there were plenty – and by the end of the project each presented to my crew and myself a gift. While relatively brief, these two experiences left a lasting impact. Hopefully this helps you to see that business is an opportunity for more than monetary profit.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
Under promise, over perform.
How have the friendships and networks you built during CW affected you?
The impact of friendships during the experience outlasted the friendships themselves.
If you had to come up with a one line slogan for CW, what would it be?
Learn your limits and surpass them.
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
Most of my clients didn’t care about bad news, as long as I told them as soon as possible. Your ability to communicate clearly and timely outweighs a lot of the mistakes you will make. Don’t just tell people about problems, also bring solutions.
Many college students struggle to choose between an internship specific to their target industry or doing CW. What advice would you give them on this subject if they wanted to enter your career field?
No matter where you work, degree or no degree, you will be a manager or at least work closely with a manager at some point in your life. I can think of no other experience that has helped me better understand what it is like to be a manager.
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
“The need for heroism is evidence of a system’s failure.” More so on the side of operations management, you have to be aware of the way in which you think about problems. Take a step back and do some detective work. Try to find out if what you are seeing is the real problem, or just a symptom of the problem.”
What’s your favorite memory from CW?
During the festivities in Cancun, Mexico, I had a photo taken of myself along with my district manager, my regional manager, and the CEO. It was a cool moment to have all of the positions of leadership represented in one moment.
Last words of wisdom?
“Beware of who you become in pursuit of what you want.” – Jim Rohn