Aug. 18, 2016
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
On campus in Nashville — Summer Brown noticed something unique towards the end of her summer internship at Vanderbilt University. Brown, a junior freestyler in the Commodores’ swimming program, is a medicine, health and society major who interned at a Vanderbilt chemistry lab this summer. But as the weeks went by, the Kokomo, Ind. native frequently noted more than just her research; she began to find ways in which to streamline her work in the lab.
“I needed to make sure that I was using my time wisely,” Brown says. “If I’m waiting for an experiment to run, I should be working on different paperwork or making sure I’m keeping up with current literature. It’s just making sure every minute of my day is used wisely.”
Brown knew her sudden emphasis on efficiency was no accident. This summer the junior swimmer had been one of several student-athletes to take part in “Operational Excellence,” a unique player development program recently implemented at Vanderbilt. The nine-week program brought together student-athletes across eight sports and taught the core elements of streamlined organizational effectiveness. Players learned how to reduce “lead” time and “eliminate waste” from any workplace, ultimately learning and applying the science of process efficiency. This summer Vanderbilt became the first athletic department in the country to offer the opportunity.
Now a handful of Commodores are poised to enter the workforce with a unique feather in their cap. “It’s giving them an invaluable tool to build their résumé and have something on there that a normal college graduate doesn’t have – and won’t have, because we’re the only ones doing it,” says Jason Grooms, Vanderbilt football’s director of operations.
Vanderbilt boasts the most comprehensive internship program in the SEC for student-athletes who stay on campus in the summer. On Fridays those students take part in career-development workshops, and this summer the Commodores added Operational Excellence to the fold with the help of Michael Giuliano. Giuliano is former engineer at Intel who now advises Fortune 500 companies worldwide on organizational effectiveness. He also attended and played football at Ohio University, where Grooms and Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason once coached with the Bobcats. That relationship helped bring Giuliano and Operational Excellence to Nashville.
The foundation of Operational Excellence is derived from Lean, Leadership, Six Sigma and Organizational Effectiveness, a business methodology that teaches the removal of different kinds of “waste” with the goal of improving overall performance. On Tuesdays and Thursdays each week, Vanderbilt student-athletes completed modules in an online portion of the course before Giuliano capped the week with an on-site class that featured hands-on simulations and material. “It’s a nine-week program that’s stacked, so each week it builds,” says Giuliano, who designed Vanderbilt’s program. “They’re able to learn a specific element, discuss it, refine their thoughts and apply it to their internship.”
Like Brown, Oren Burks already recognizes the real-world applications of Operational Excellence. A hybrid linebacker and safety on Vanderbilt’s football team, Burks is also human and organizational development major who sees those lessons one day impacting his career. “As far as wasted time, it’s getting the best out of people around you,” Burks says. “If you find a way to cut a second or two off an operation process in a manufacturing plant, that goes a long way in providing more profits to your organization and more success in the long run. That’s something that I’ll be able to apply to the jobs that I have later on in life.”
Operational Excellence has a chance to open a number of doors for student-athletes like Brown and Burks. Mark Morek, managing partner of executive search firm Ciresi & Morek, says experience with Lean, Leadership, Six Sigma and Organizational Effectiveness is an invaluable asset to a job candidate. “In my world of recruitment, this is one of the things people always look for,” Morek says. “It just puts Vanderbilt student-athletes on a whole different level.”
“This is an experience that typical college students don’t get,” says Alison Wenzel, assistant athletics director for student-athlete development at Vanderbilt. “They have to wait until they get into the professional world. Our student-athletes, having been exposed to this, it should give them a leg-up in a job interview.”
Brown knows what lies ahead in her future following Operational Excellence. After graduation she plans to earn her Ph.D. and enter the research field, mirroring the work from her internship at Vanderbilt. Maybe then, Brown says, she can one day help cure a disease or invent a life-saving drug. Until then the junior plans to utilize her Operational Excellence experience in every walk of life. “I am about to visit a hospital to see how Operational Excellence operates in a hospital setting,” Brown says. “I can see how Operational Excellence works at a local Starbucks, but it will be really cool to see how it works in the healthcare setting.”
For now, Operational Excellence serves as yet another example of a student-athlete experience that is uniquely Vanderbilt.
“We’re already different and unique here, as the only private school in the SEC, the only school in the SEC with an extensive internship program,” Grooms says. “Now we have something else to add to that. We want to continue to provide opportunities for our student-athletes to be successful at all levels.”
