Intern Appreciation Month

There are so many of us who launched our careers through an internship, and maybe even in a career we hadn’t first imagined.  Topco Associates Human Resource Specialist Nabiha Asfar started as an intern with Topco and spent some time assisting the WISE Marketing Committee as well.  Her story reminds us how important internships are in finding amazing talent and showing young professionals that they can find a successful career in private brands.

WISE:  Nabiha, please give us some background on where you went to college, what your major was and why you chose that major.

NABIHA:  I graduated from DePaul University in June 2020 with a Bachelors degree in Human Resource (HR) Management. I chose to major in HR Management because I wanted to work in a role that allowed me to work with people and make an impact beyond just a financial level. Human Resources is very service-oriented and I love seeing the work I do help the company I work for every day.

WISE:  How did you find your internship opportunity with Topco?

NABIHA:  An internship is required in order to graduate from DePaul. I was familiar with Topco because my sister-in-law actually works in Category Insights at Topco and I had seen the opportunity and applied for a prior internship. Then, about a year later, she was volunteering at a career fair DePaul was hosting and I had plans to meet with her after the fair. I went to meet with her as the fair was wrapping up and got introduced to my now manager where she told me more about the opportunity. It was truly a right place, right time moment.

WISE:  Tell us about your thoughts leading up to the start of your internship.  Did you have any expectations of what it would be like or did you do any preparation?

NABIHA:  I came into Topco without any internship or corporate experience, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I wanted to be a sponge and just soak in as much knowledge as I possibly could within Human Resources. Topco has a complex and unique business model, so I prepped myself by doing a lot of research on the company prior to starting. I still think I learn something new about the company every day.

WISE:  You were an intern during COVID.  How did that mold your experience?

NABIHA:  I had about two months in person before Topco went completely remote in March. I’m extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to continue my internship remotely and began working a full 40-hour work week since my classes were remote as well. Adapting to a complete virtual environment made me strengthen my communication and time management skills.

WISE:  Part of your intern experience was working with WISE.  How did that come about?

NABIHA:  I learned about the organization through my manager, Emily Glass, who sits on the WISE Board. Topco is also a proud partner of WISE and offers a membership to all associates. Emily brought up the internship opportunity at WISE and I thought it would be a great resume builder and professional development opportunity for me. I was part of the SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapter at DePaul and missed being part of a professional organization. I’ve always wanted to work for a nonprofit and WISE has a mission that I really value so I couldn’t say no to the opportunity.

WISE:  What were your thoughts about the organization as you learned about WISE and its mission?

NABIHA:  I thought the organization was doing important work and providing amazing opportunities for women to connect with each other and learn from one another. I appreciated how welcoming everyone I worked with was and felt like I was part of a community. Diversity and inclusion is a topic that I’m really passionate about and I think the work WISE is doing to champion D&I in the store brand industry is not only important, it’s essential.

WISE:  What do you think could be the future for WISE?

NABIHA:  Although I absolutely loved everyone I worked with, I did feel a disconnect being a younger WISE member. I think this could be an opportunity to develop a WISE Junior Board as it could provide a professional development platform for a new generation, diversify the organization and bring in new perspectives.

WISE:  How would you sum up your intern experience(s) and what advice would you give to students when considering an internship?

NABIHA:  I enjoyed my internship with WISE and I’m grateful for all the people I was able to connect with. I had a blast each time I was able to collaborate with someone new. I would advise students to take a second to reflect on what matters to them when applying to an organization. Is this a company whose values align with yours?