Welcome to the Toshiba Storage Blog

Over the past eleven weeks, I have had the honor of working as a HDD Marketing and Business Planning Intern for TAEC in San Jose, CA.

Coming into the internship, admittedly, there was a lot to learn the HDD Industry. On day one, Genevieve and I were met with mentors who wholeheartedly wanted to help us to bridge this gap we’d need to overcome for our research and final presentation. We have had the privilege of working with TAEC executives across not just the United States, but also Japan and Latin America. From lunches with our managers and VPs, to duetting with our coworkers at the summer barbeque, we were welcomed with open arms and treated as coequals.  Our final project, which investigated the 3.5” Internal HDD Market in the Americas, challenged us each day and gave Genevieve and I areas in which to let our key skills and interests shine: marketing, business analytics, Spanish language and culture, and retail industry knowledge.

There were two key takeaways that I am left with:

• Do not be afraid to ask questions: No one ever made us feel lesser than for asking questions and remaining curious. They were unanimously met with enthusiasm and support. Our questions often sparked greater conversation about business practices and what changes can be made. We met with so many new people across the entire TAEC organization and gained countless perspectives to build out our final project. Always ask questions and do not ask in fear—you might just find a new way of solving a key problem and derive new solutions, which are key to success.
• Being challenged is the only way to grow: Over the past eleven weeks, Genevieve and I have had the privilege of working together on our final project. In our research and data analysis, there were many times where Genevieve and I were able to challenge ourselves and learn. We learned many new skills on Excel, the ins and outs of the HDD industry, specific HDD product specifications/applications, and ways of understanding different countries’ business environments across Latin America. I can confidently say that I’ve learned so much and have so many new skills to guide me through my career.
  
  

Thank you, Toshiba America Electronic Components, and the team in San Jose (special thank you to Tammy, Kyle, Uygar, and Tommy) for mentoring us, answering each question, your willingness to meet, and helping us to not just become better businesswomen, but better people. Thank you to Genevieve, who was the best fellow intern and friend over the past eleven weeks. You always stepped up to any challenge and were the best teammate I could ask for.

Looking forward, I will be graduating from the Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business this upcoming year with my Bachelor of Science in Commerce in Marketing, Retail Studies, and Spanish Studies. I owe a lot of my personal and professional growth to the TAEC team and cannot wait for what the next year holds.