My Summer Experience: Latifat Owe

Latifat Owe
Intern At Owens Corning
Senior, Supply Chain

I spent my summer interning with Owens Corning at their world headquarters in Toledo. Owens Corning (OC) is a market leading fiberglass manufacturer. Their product line extends from home insulation to car parts. I had a very interesting experience as a supply chain intern for this company. My summer began on May 20 with about 50 other interns who were all equally as anxious I was to find out the projects and people they would be working with all summer.

After orientation I was able to meet my team and find out my project for the summer. I worked on the Insulation Systems Business Raw Materials Procurement Team. My team acquires all the material inputs required to make insulation. On my first day my manager told me “the plants are our customers.” This frame of thinking shaped my entire summer.

My manager went on to explain my project and I found that I would be in direct contact with both suppliers and customers (plants). When I found this out I was completely excited to be able to have the opportunity to interact with both sides of the table as an intern. It gave me a sense of independence that I had not had in my previous internship.

Though my work was exciting, being an intern at OC also came with the responsibility bestowed on all OC employees to be involved in the community. This was an awesome opportunity for me as I have been involved with community service work since the beginning of my college career. My intern class and I were able to put on a small carnival for The Friendly Center, a small community center in downtown Toledo. I was able to contribute to this event by serving as the Communications Chair as well as at the Pie in the Face station. That day was honestly one of the most fun experiences I had all summer. In addition to The Friendly Center Carnival I had the opportunity to participate in The Toledo Dragon Boat Races and the Habitat for Humanity build on August 24.

Overall my internship at Owens Corning gave me perspective on my future career as well as a look inside a Fortune 500 company. Throughout the journey I got some perspective on myself as a person and what I bring to the table. I will miss my time at OC, but mostly I will miss the people.