Gisel Amador, 2022 Intern
Meet Gisel Amador
A student at Northwest Arkansas Community College studying Nursing.
Gisel interned with Simmons in 2021 and came back for a second experience with our team! This summer, Gisel was a nursing intern for Simmons Prepared Foods where she focused on hearing health and conservation for our team members at all Northwest Arkansas and Van Buren facilities. Working under the supervision of Lisa Scantlin, Senior Regional Occupational and Community Nurse Manager, Gisel observed current hearing conservation plans and OSHA compliance standards in order to further improve upon the current Hearing Conservation Plan at Simmons.
I ended the summer stronger and more confident in my work and communication skills and will be more prepared for my future career as a result. From building relationships with higher management to working with our production team members, I came to appreciate all that this company does for its team members even more. - Gisel Amador
Tell us about the project you worked on this summer.
My summer project focused on hearing conservation for all of our team members at our Northwest Arkansas and Van Buren facilities. I reviewed current hearing conservation plans and assisted with hearing testing Additionally, we created bilingual educational material to use during testing, monthly safety training, and new hire orientation training. The training material included a video, which demonstrated the proper way to wear different types of hearing protection.
What are two to three lessons you learned this summer that you will carry with you as you head back to school?
First, I was able to improve my communication skills. One of my biggest challenges this summer was acclimating to each facility I went to, as well as remembering who is who at each facility. Each facility has their own processes and I never wanted to be a hindrance. I only wanted to help them further improve upon certain processes, so I had to learn how to clearly state my goals and what I was wanting to achieve at each facility.
I also learned time management skills this summer. With only eight weeks to complete this project, I had to plan what week and times I would go to each facility in accordance with their corresponding shift times. Depending on the facility’s shift times, my arrival time at facilities ranged anywhere from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m.
What do you believe sets Simmons Foods’ internship program apart from other intern programs? What was the most valuable experience you had during your internship?
I believe what makes Simmons’ intern program stand out more than other programs is their enthusiasm and care and dedication they have for their interns. They want to see them actually succeed and thrive during our time here. They actually live out what they say, which makes you really excited to be a part of this team.
The 2022 class of summer interns was our largest class to date. Our interns “Do Real Work” by completing meaningful projects that contribute to their chosen department, our company and help build their professional portfolios. Over the next few weeks, stay tuned as we feature six of our incredible interns and their projects.