Rachel Renzi

This summer, I had the opportunity to work at Macy’s Inc. as a Merchandise Buying Intern in their NYC offices. This was an incredible experience, as I got to further develop my skills and gain new ones that will last a lifetime. Interning at Macy’s gave me the opportunity to build relationships and foster connections with the associates, assistants, and managers in the Men’s Modern Sportswear department. With the help of the internship grant through Honors, I was able to experience independent city living in my summer apartment, travel to and from Macy’s headquarters, and truly be immersed for 8 weeks.

I have a lot of family and friends in NYC; therefore, I’ve grown up traveling to the city often. However, living in NYC on your own is completely different from just visiting. This past spring, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Florence, and one of the main takeaways of this was how independent and self-sufficient I have become. Florence helped me become more independent, and I’m grateful for that because, living in NYC, I experienced this again. Having an internship means responsibility, individuals are counting on you to be your best, and I really enjoyed the accountability of this.

Following my summer internship, I have accumulated knowledge and skills that will be helpful to me in the future. For my Honors thesis, I will be analyzing my internship experience and the Macy’s company as a whole. The internship has given me the necessary requirements for doing so and has left me with a more concrete outlook on what I want in a career, and for that I’m forever grateful.

I would like to thank Karen Hall for always being available to talk; if it weren’t for our Zoom calls, I’m not sure I would have come across the Honors Internship Grant. Additionally, when discussing my capstone idea with Karen, we came across the aspect of detailing my internship. I have now gained the necessary tools and knowledge to discuss my internship, and I cannot be more excited to see the outcome.