Field Trip – April 26, 2019: CVS Health Corporate Office
It was a good day to be associated with the Hope High school brand.
Several Hope juniors were part of a career and jobs day at CVS Health, a Woonsocket, RI, based pharmacy, pharmacy benefits, retail, and soon-to-be, with their Aetna acquisition, insurance company and 7th largest American company with approximately $200 BILLION dollars in annual revenue. The reaction to the students’ engagement with the CVS staff was telling. ‘Very professional acting young adults….. curious, inquisitive students …..I was surprised by the quality of their questions…..they were more aware of what’s happening with 21st century technology and its impact on an evolving global economy than anticipated: artificial intelligence, the importance of data, autonomous warehouses and vehicles, and many of the software applications we’re using…..very courteous, respectful young people; they even had business cards!!!!!…….they were networking throughout the day; impressive ….they were unafraid to engage in conversation and ask questions, even about our insights and opinions on a variety of topics; one student respectfully asked if we’d provide some feedback on a data analytic project he was completing for school; we said ‘of course; we’re curious’….. impressive young people…… ‘ It truly was a good day for the Hope High school brand.
Hope Life Skills 2019 class gathers before the ‘check in’ desk at the CVS Health Corporate Marketing office in Woonsocket, RI
Hope students introduce themselves to their CVS Health hosts.
Hope students enter the secured office space to begin the day’s activities.
Students enter the conference room for the opening remarks and greetings.
Students have their seats and await the opening remarks of Randy Martinez, Director, Strategic Diversity Management, Business Operations at CVS Health
After introducing himself to the Hope students, Randy informs the students about the company, CVS Health, the 7th largest American company with over $200 BILLION dollars in annual revenues.
Following his opening remarks, Randy asks each student to introduce themselves in “SuperHero” branding terms. Arthur Bonga, directly to Randy’s right, begins the introductions.
Kevin Torres (plaid shirt and bow tie) and Jose Quintanilla following Arthur.
Selene Bun follows Jose as Robert Desilets awaits his turn.
Aaron Chy introduces his SuperHero persona in humble, soft spoken terms.
Lisbet Gomez shares her SuperHero persona as Lucy Salado is poised to introduce herself to the group.
Isabella Carraballo introduces herself to the group.
David Navarez seems amused while sharing his SuperHero persona while Darwin Morales reflects on his introduction to follow David.
Some of the CVS Health team participating in today’s jobs and career day also introduce themselves to the group: (left to right) – Fernando Perez, Hope High School alum (2016), Hope Life Skills alum and CVS/Life Skills Summer Intern (2015) URI computer science major, and CVS employee now working in the Digital Marketing Division; Edwin Silveiro, Senior Manager Pharmacy Returns at CVS; Fred Felix, CVS Senior Manager Print Production at CVS.
Randy shares the day’s schedule on the screen behind him as well as introducing, Gerry Brito, Senior Manager, Circular Planning at CVS.
Emily Nuri, Hope High School history professor, and Jimps Jean Louis, Hope High Guidance Counselor, participate in the conversation.
Fernando Perez shares his personal story, from his family’s emigration as a young boy from Mexico to the United States, his enrollment at Hope High School and experience in the Hope Life Skills program, his CVS summer internship through the Life Skills class, his enrollment at URI in computer science, to his ongoing networking within CVS, its results, and his present role within the CVS Digital Marketing team.
Selene Bun asks a question following Randy, Gerry’s and Fernando’s presentation.
Arthur Bonga asks Gerry Brito about the automation strategy at CVS, from autonomous vehicles to warehouse robots.
Soon after the initial presentations, students were grouped according to career interest and were transported to different locations on the CVS campus to speak with CVS staff members about their daily work in the division they were working in. Selene Bun asks a question to the analytic team. Shown in this photo: sitting at the table with Selene is Deborah Daly-Senior Manager Loyalty & Personalization Execution & Performance Diagnostics; standing (left) is Stacy Yontz-Consultant Loyalty & Personalization Execution & Performance Diagnostics and Shiandra Fantasia (Emmy)-Analyst Loyalty & Personalization Execution & Performance Diagnostics.
Hope students and CVS staff have a conversation on data’s role and software options to optimize the service provided by CVS Health to its customers. Other Hope students participating in this session are: Robert Desilets (across the table from Selene, first seat); Kevin Torres, Jose Quintanilla, and Aaron Chy. Sitting to right side of the screen is Stacy Marszalkowski, Loyalty and Personalization Performance Analytics at CVS Health.
This group of students tour the ‘CVS store’ training facility: (left to right) Lisbet Gomez, Lucy Salado, Isabella Caraballo, Arthur Bonga, and Darwin Morales.
Hope students listen to the Pharmacy team at the training facility.
Isabella (far left), Lucy and Lisbet look at one of the pharmacy training modules with a CVS Pharmacy store trainer.
Lunch is served and the conversation continues. Randy Martinez solicits feedback from the students about their impressions from their department tours.
Best part of the lunch, according to Stephen Cronin, the chocolate chip cookies.
Gerry Brito plays the role of ‘ideal host’ as he shares the tasty chocolate chip cookies with the Hope students. Arthur is certainly enjoying his.
Robert Desilets offers his feedback on the day’s activities.
David Navarez shares details from his meeting with one of CVS’s graphic designers.
Fred Felix speaks about the reality of ‘failure‘ during our lives and how valuable failure can be to our personal growth and ultimate success. Yael Torres, Hope High School alum, former Hope Life Skills student who was chosen for a CVS Health summer paid internship while part of the Life Skills class, presently a CCRI student and part time CVS Health employee was nice enough to join the luncheon conversation.
Darwin Morales asks Randy Martinez one of the day’s most thought provoking questions – ‘have you ever had a challenging time in your career, how did you handle it and what did you learn from it‘? Great question, Darwin!
Gerry Brito generously distributes CVS store ‘gift cards’ to the Hope students.
Networking after lunch. Fernando shares his experience at the National Youth Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. as a member of the Hope Life Skills class in 2015 with Lisbet, Jose, and Lucy who have been awarded scholarships to this summer’s National Youth Leadership Forum in Washington D.C. with over 300 high school students from all over the United States.
David Navarez neworks with Fred Felix, artist, graphic designer and CVS manager.
Selene networks with Randy Martinez after lunch.
Kevin Torres speaks with Edwin Silveiro about the interviewing process for the summer paid internships at CVS. Kevin will be one of the applicants for a CVS summer internship.
Robert Desilets speaks with Fernando Perez, Lucy Salado, and Jose Quintanilla as Yael Torres speaks with the Lisbet Gomez.
As students and staff prepare to leave the day’s event, Jimps Jean Louis, Isabella Caraballo, and Lisbet Gomez thank Randy Martinez for his and CVS Health’s hospitality and time spent with them. “Thank you, Randy”!