Kate Zdrojewski ‘05 REI Internship
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Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) was founded in 1938 by Lloyd and Mary Anderson. Along with 21 other Northwest mountaineers, the group designed REI as a consumer cooperative to purchase high-quality climbing gear from Europe because it was impossible to find locally. Over the past six decades, REI has grown into the nation’s dominant outdoor recreation retailer. It currently has over 70 stores across the nation and is expanding at an average rate of eight stores per year. Despite its significant growth, REI has managed to uphold its core values, including its strong emphasis on maintaining a work and life balance, while at the same time providing an incredible service to outdoor enthusiasts.
This past summer, I had the incredible opportunity to be one of REI’s first interns and to learn about the retail business first-hand as well as to find out what makes REI so unique. I was stationed at the REI store in Fremont, California, where I was exposed to the REI culture and advised by amazing managers and employees. The internship program was a reworked version of the supervisor training program, and so I secured a broad knowledge base of the retail industry by the end of the 10 week program. With the encouragement and support of the REI staff members, I was able to establish myself as a valuable asset by taking on an active role at the store. I learned all the facets of in-store retailing, from cashiering to visual merchandising. About two years ago, REI introduced a new visual merchandising program and for the second half of my internship, I was responsible for the visual merchandising in the Fremont store. This job required the seasonal visual changes, including fixture and product rearrangement and display set-up. It was great to know the store managers realized my capabilities and trusted me to complete major tasks. Every day of my internship was different and excitingly unpredictable. I was trained in every department, which allowed me to work all over the store and help out wherever needed.
By the last few weeks of the internship, I felt my coworkers believed I was a capable "manager-in-training," which made me feel like I could do anything. My leadership skills improved immensely over the 10 weeks and I know I have developed a solid retail management foundation.
A combination of REI's unique structure as a service-oriented consumer corporation and the people REI employs help to make it an incredible company. REI has happy employees because it respects individuality and focuses on giving back to the customers as well as its employees. I was embraced with open arms by every single employee, which allowed me to learn quickly and transition into my internship role with ease. My managers were inspiring mentors, while at the same time receptive to my ideas and opinions. They encouraged free thinking and made sure that I was always learning new things and having fun while doing it!
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