Hitting the Target!

[sgraye]

Thank you Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Pointnext Finance for a summer full of experiences both professionally and socially.

A global technology company who is part of Houston's technology ecosystem sitting on the north side of Houston's metro area, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a large impact on the surrounding community, the tech world as well as the global community.  I learned first-hand that we are making a difference in the way people live and work and strive for innovation in all we do.  

One example, is how HPE is working to solve world hunger in partnership with Purdue University through applying technology to farming to accelerate research and discovery.  Strongly advocating for a circular economy to make our customers' energy and material use more efficient and environmentally responsible.  Innovation is everywhere and I got to experience it up close (after taking the appropriate safety training) by trying out the "Makerspace" , an exciting lab, where you can make pretty much everything.

Dartboard Annabel made for the Intern Project Fair this summer in the MakerspaceHPE taught me many things this summer.  Check out the video of my adventures featured on World Intern Day.  Just like the culture at the university you attend makes your time there more rewarding, the culture of a company impacts not only the employees at the workplace but allows them to grow outside of work.  Health and wellness are a big part of the culture at HPE.  Wellness Fridays, once a month, allow employees to make an impact in their community.  Volunteering is an important part of the HPE culture.  Employees volunteer both in teams and personally to make a difference.  

The HPE intern program is amazing.   Interns daily focus varies dependent upon the department and business they are assigned to.  We had the opportunity to come together this summer for professional development, mentoring and of course fun.

During my summer, I spent time working on a transformation cross-functional project working with Finance, Engineering, Quality and Supply Chain.  To gain insight into how each business unit affects the profit and loss statement and used financial and business analysis to leverage possible solutions.  Learning and understanding where the technology sector is moving to with business as a service and how that will change the business model, added valuable business context and insight into Finance transformation principles.

The highlight of my summer, was sharing my solutions at the HPE Intern Fair.  Each year HPE holds an Intern Fair at our major campuses where interns showcase their summer projects.  

Annabel Sweeney (in business suit) sharing insight at the Houston HPE Intern Project Fair

Speaking of leadership, I am fortunate to have worked for an amazing manager and to have had the support of finance colleagues and leaders who were generous with their time in career chats.

It has been great to be challenged with a complex business problem and be focused on finding a solution as an intern for the Pointnext Finance team this summer.  I look forward to what I can offer to HPE in the future.  I enjoyed working for an industry leader in key areas like corporate social responsibility and Edgeline computing which provides our customers the flexibility of an as-a-service business model.

Inspired and energized to make a difference.

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About the writer

Annabel Sweeney is a student-athlete and senior economics and finance major at the Munday School of Business at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas. A native of Houston and from a multicultural family, she loves being a global citizen and working for a company that values making a different in the workplace and in the world.

As a goalkeeper on an NCAA women’s soccer team she values the competitive spirit of leading in the market. Most recently she was an intern with the HPE Pointnext Finance team learning pricing methodologies, cost analysis and financial treatment of variable costs and leading a project to outline cost disparities among source data.

In addition to her internship with HPE Pointnext Finance, Annabel participated in the HPE Finance Externship Day sponsored by HPE Global Finance Leadership Development Program, working in a team of three Graduate finance professionals and Undergraduate finance majors working on a group challenge and learning about different roles in Finance.

Prior to interning at HPE, Annabel worked at the Greater Houston Partnership conducting economic and demographic research and presented a Research Paper finding on success factors of technology start-ups in Houston. She also was an audit intern at a national construction firm.

She is passionate about volunteering and works with fellow student athletes in making a difference in their community. Annabel’s goals are to work in Europe and play soccer for a professional team.

You can follow Annabel’s finance, economic and soccer adventures on LinkedIn and if you are interested in learning more about our culture visit our career page and start an amazing journey today! 

Susan Graye
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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