Eleven strangers from around the country were chosen to work in one warehouse for five months.  Welcome to the life of a TOMS Spring 2010 intern.  My name is Sarah and I am one of the newest members to the TOMS family! I drove across the country all the way from Augusta, GA to begin this incredible adventure in L.A.  Why would I travel 3,000 miles to California for an internship? Easy. TOMS is more than a job, more than a company, or more than a pair of shoes.  TOMS is a movement- a movement that everyone can be a part of and one that actually has the capability to change the world.

On my journey from Georgia I made a stop at the Grand Canyon.  Wearing my TOMS in the snow, no doubt!

After only a few days on the job, I can tell that working at TOMS is going to be intense.  But then again, so is anything that’s actually worthwhile.  We walked into the large warehouse that houses TOMS HQ in Santa Monica last Thursday for the first time, nervous, excited, and not sure what to expect.  We had come from far and wide; Connecticut, Georgia, Arizona, Texas, California, Kansas, and oh yeah… Germany.  I think it is safe to say the TOMS mission is inspiring people all over the globe!  Our first day on the job was spent getting “oriented.” Our awesome intern coordinator, Caroline, showed us the ropes and introduced us to several of the employees.  We chilled in a conference room for most of the day as each manager came back to introduce themselves and explain their position at TOMS.    It was surreal.  I think it is safe to say that all of us were on cloud nine… were we REALLY here? Was that ACTUALLY Blake Mycoskie that just walked by?

Some of the interns gathering for the first time at TOMS HQ!

Hard at work already in the Online department “office.” One wall is made completely out of old TOMS shoe boxes!

We got to sleep in a little on Friday and were told to report to the office at 10:30 to be introduced to the ENTIRE staff.  I’m not gonna lie… I was pretty nervous.  I knew we were going to have to stand in front of everyone and introduce ourselves and would have about ten seconds to convince everyone that we were funny and cool.  However, as soon as Caroline led us into the room with all the other TOMS employees, any previous jitters immediately disappeared.  Everyone was hanging around in a circle and gave us a round of applause when we walked in.  And standing in front wearing bright green sweatpants and clapping loudest of all was the man himself, Blake– the brains behind the whole operation.  He was so cool and welcomed us all to the family.  Because TOMS is just that, a family, and we were now a part of it.

Our new boss!

And then, of course, we still had to stand in front of the 60+ staff and introduce ourselves, but everyone was super nice and at least pretended to laugh at our jokes.  After our meeting, we got right to work, and I’ve got to say it was quite a rush.  Working in an environment like the one at TOMS makes you actually WANT to work, because you know you’re doing it for a reason bigger than yourself, bigger than a paycheck.

Our intern coordinator, Caroline, introduces new intern Grace to the TOMS staff

Well, that is all for now, my friends.  I hope you all will enjoy keeping up with the adventures we are about to embark on at TOMS.  Stay tuned…

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Tags:   adventure · blake mycoskie · HQ · intern · internship · one for one · toms · TOMS HQ · toms shoes
Categories: Intern Adventures2 Comments