You have heard from our interns in San Francisco and Eugene, Oregon but those were not the only interns at Levi Strauss & Co. this summer. Read on to find about Lucy Hammet’s time in our Singapore office.
I was motivated to join Levi Strauss & Co. because I wanted to spend my time in a place where I could learn more about the industry, experience the inner workings of a global company, and work with and for people that are passionate about the same philanthropic and social issues that I am. But to do it in Singapore and 10,000 miles away from home? I never thought I’d have the chance to do that.
I’m from New Orleans, Louisiana and studying Economics and History at Davidson College in North Carolina, but when the opportunity of a lifetime – an internship in the Singapore office of LS&Co – popped up, I had to say yes. And before I could catch my breath at the exhilarating news, I was on a plane.
From the moment that I landed in Singapore, I was blown away by the melting pot of cultures, languages and religions. It was exciting and refreshing for me. And just when I was processing how diverse Singapore truly is, it hit me that the markets here in Asia are even more diverse. Every country is different and what one would do in Malaysia, one would not do in Japan. It was fascinating to see the innovative strategies that the people in this office are developing to expand and strengthen Levi’s® presence in this complex region. From my experience in the U.S., it is not as common to work with people from countries around the world. At LS&Co. in Singapore, I worked directly with people from many different countries and backgrounds. This made for a very interesting and rewarding work environment.
My key takeaway from working at LS&Co. is the necessity and importance of collaborating with teams across the office, the region and, ultimately, the globe to be successful. And my number one takeaway from Singapore is how amazing a place can be when people from different cultures and backgrounds take the time to respect and understand each other.
Singapore is extremely diverse compared to many places in the U.S., and it would be difficult to see the true beauty of Singapore without getting out of your comfort zone by meeting and talking to new people. When you hear about Singapore, for most of us in the U.S., you’d automatically think about “Crazy Rich Asians,” the recent hit Hollywood film that has put a spotlight on Singapore. However, the Singapore I experienced is nothing like the movie, except for the food and some of the amazing sights! The people I’ve met here have been very kind and down to earth and you don’t need to be crazy rich to live in and love Singapore. Now that the journey has come to an end, I’ll miss Singapore and working with the team at LS&Co.
For those of you who are interested in doing something similar, my advice is to be open to try new things and to meet and talk to as many people as possible because you can learn a lot both from the internship itself and from the experience of living overseas!
