Name: Charlotte Kimmerling
Class Year: 2028
Major: History of Art
Minor: Museum Studies

Internship Organization: MACOM European Semiconductor Center
Internship Title: Global Trade Compliance Intern
Location: Paris, France

What’s happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!

I am working on a variety of projects centered around global trade compliance. This includes reviewing classification records, customs recordkeeping, performing deny party screening, and creating communications both for Global Trade Compliance and in collaboration with the Information Technology team. The Trade Compliance Team at MACOM is relatively new, so they were working on fixing the older customs and classification records in preparation for an audit.

I helped them go back and find misplaced files, or contact DHL and Fedex for the missing records. In addition to this, I worked on three communications projects which are being shared and displayed globally. Each was done in both English and French and centered around education. I worked with Information Technology and Information Security on the content for one, and I worked with Engineers and the other people in Trade Compliance for the other.

Why did you apply for this internship?

I applied to this internship for the opportunity to experience a corporate environment and improve my French. After studying French for six years now, I really wanted to expand my French vocabulary and conversational skills while living in Paris and experiencing French culture. I had done a month abroad in Southern France before my Junior year of High School, and I knew this would be very different. Not only is Paris very culturally different from the south, I would be learning French in a business setting. I also knew that getting some experience working on customs projects and gaining familiarity with export and import law and processes as a History of Art major would be useful for my future career in the art world. 

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced at your internship?

It has been interesting getting used to a corporate environment. Every communication I created had to go through several people before it was ready to be put on the screens around the office, meaning I had to get used to constructive criticism quickly. I was always proud of the end result, and I am glad for the input I received because it ensured the right message got across. By the end, I felt my communication skills improved immensely.

Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?

I have had to do a lot of my own research and I’ve had to figure a lot of things out on my own and through that, I have gained a lot of confidence in my own problem-solving skills. I also feel I have improved upon and developed some practical skills. I have gotten better at writing emails, Microsoft Powerpoint and Excel, and using industry-specific programs like SAP and Agile to perform denied party screening. Working on these different programs for the various projects has shown me the value in being easily adaptable. Before this internship writing emails was very difficult for me, so I am very grateful that I was able to use this opportunity to improve my email skills.