{"id":13863,"date":"2020-12-08T12:25:57","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T17:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wika.com\/us\/\/?p=13863"},"modified":"2023-08-22T04:53:03","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T09:53:03","slug":"wika-usas-first-graduate-trainee-blazes-a-trail-for-future-participants-to-follow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wika.com\/us\/wika-insight\/wika-usas-first-graduate-trainee-blazes-a-trail-for-future-participants-to-follow\/","title":{"rendered":"WIKA USA\u2019s First Graduate Trainee Blazes a Trail for Future Participants to Follow"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the inaugural member of WIKA USA\u2019s Graduate Training Program, Eugenys Contreras reflects on her experiences, the new skills she has picked up, and why she has an ideal position in the ideal company.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Succession planning is what smart companies do to ensure business continuity and prevent skills gaps. That is why WIKA USA President Todd Gardner<\/a>, the executive team, and HR worked together to develop the Graduate Training Program<\/a>. In this sophisticated initiative that confers full job benefits, junior professionals rotate among various departments, participate in high-level projects for six months at a time, and receive senior-level mentoring. Upon successful completion of the program, which lasts 18\u201324 months, participants are offered a long-term position.<\/p>\n

Starting Her Career at WIKA<\/h2>\n

A combination of connections, good timing, and hard work was how Eugenys Contreras found herself at WIKA USA and, within a few months, became the program\u2018s first participant. She was in a business law class at Georgia Gwinnett College last year when a good friend, Erika Garcia, asked whether she\u2019d be interested in temporarily filling her accounts receivable position while she went on maternity leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the start of my senior year, and I had been looking into internships,\u201d said Eugenys, who in December 2019 received her Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting. \u201cSoon after I began temping, I was struck by how special WIKA is. Dagmar Deamer, my boss, was wonderful. Every single person has good intentions and is so kind. I felt like my voice mattered. From speaking with others, I know that is very rare.\u201d<\/p>\n

One serendipitous event led to another. After Erika returned from her leave, another employee left the department. Eugenys applied for \u2013 and was picked \u2013 for that position in accounts payable. \u201cEverything kept lining up,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n

Her enthusiasm, work ethic, and business acumen caught the attention of Steve McCullough, who was CFO at the time and is now general manager for WIKA\u2019s Worthington, Ohio, location.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve asked me what I wanted to do after I graduated. I told him I didn\u2019t really know, but I have many interests and want to experience different things. He then said WIKA has this new program and that I should apply,\u201d Eugenys said.<\/p>\n

Mentorships in the Age of COVID<\/h2>\n

WIKA\u2019s Graduate Training Program seemed tailor-made for Eugenys’ professional goals and skill set. But no one could have anticipated that just two months after it began, the novel coronavirus would upend everything. She was used to in-person interactions, where she could read a room and anticipate others\u2019 reactions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea (of the program) was to meet a bunch of new people, make these connections, and try new things. Having to do all that over Skype was trickier.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she succeeded. Pam Durfee, senior HR manager, was relieved that Eugenys was the program\u2019s first participant. \u201cWe really like to promote from within, and Eugenys had already established great relationships as a temp. She was a shoo-in,\u201d Pam said. \u201cWhen COVID hit, I was even more glad we chose her, as she already knew the company and was able to help us work through the necessary changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the pandemic\u2019s restrictions and limitations, Eugenys has been able to learn and contribute. Her first project was in import-export compliance. She then moved to Operations, where she helped improve on-time delivery. Eugenys will have only one more project \u2013 inventory control \u2013 because Pam already has a long-term position in mind for her. Her mentor throughout the training program is Felix Brockmeyer, vice-president of industrial instrumentation.<\/p>\n

Next Steps<\/h2>\n

The original plan was to inaugurate three trainees in 2020. COVID threw a wrench into everything, which was why Eugenys found herself in a group of one. WIKA is now ready to expand the program, adding one or two per year, with trainees in all of WIKA USA\u2019s locations. There are currently two openings.<\/p>\n

As for Eugenys, she is looking forward to not only growing her career, but to give back. \u201cI\u2019ve learned so much here. In a few years, I hope to see myself in a position where I\u2019m able to mentor a recent graduate, to guide them as I\u2019ve been guided. This has been an invaluable experience, and WIKA feels like home. I\u2019m really excited to be part of a company that feels so inclusive and has such an amazing corporate culture!\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact Us<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the inaugural member of WIKA USA\u2019s Graduate Training Program, Eugenys Contreras reflects on her experiences, the new skills she has picked up, and why she has an ideal position in the ideal company. Succession planning is what smart companies do to ensure business continuity and prevent skills gaps. That is why WIKA USA President […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232,"featured_media":13869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[215],"tags":[872,867,948],"class_list":["post-13863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wika-insight","tag-company-culture","tag-employee-relations","tag-excellence"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nProfile of Inaugural WIKA USA Graduate Trainee - WIKA blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Eugenys Contreras, the first person to go through WIKA USA\u2019s Graduate Training Program, reflects on her experiences and lessons learned at the company.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.wika.com\/us\/wika-insight\/wika-usas-first-graduate-trainee-blazes-a-trail-for-future-participants-to-follow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Profile of Inaugural WIKA USA Graduate Trainee - 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