As a high jumper on the UML women鈥檚 track and field team, junior literally sets a high bar for herself. If she happens to knock it down on an attempt, she resets the bar and tries again. The same holds true for Poublon outside of the athletic arena.
Of the 12 co-op positions for which the business administration major from Nashua, N.H., interviewed in her sophomore year, Poublon had her sights set on Kronos.
Then came the big interview.
鈥淚t was awful. A total train wreck. I don鈥檛 blame them for not hiring me,鈥� says Poublon, who responded in the only way she knows how 鈥� by resetting the bar and trying again. 鈥淚 have to work at this,鈥� she told herself.
Then Jim McGonigle, assistant director of professional co-ops for the Manning School of Business, told Poublon about a six-month operations management co-op at Raytheon in Andover.
Poublon, whose concentrations are in marketing and management, wasn鈥檛 familiar with operations management. However, she did some research, talked to Raytheon reps at the Spring Career Fair and landed an interview.
This time, she cleared the bar and was hired as an integrated product team lead for the defense and electronics giant (where, coincidentally, her great-grandfather once worked).
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 have asked for a better experience,鈥� says Poublon, who served as the go-between for project managers and the factory floor to ensure the timely delivery of $70 million in contracted integrated defense systems.聽
After a 鈥渉ectic鈥� first month of learning processes and acronyms, Poublon was surprised when her supervisor asked her to begin leading weekly status update meetings with company directors.
鈥淭hey threw me in the deep end, and I loved that. It鈥檚 the only way I was going to learn,鈥� says Poublon, who credits her professional communications course for helping prepare her for the challenge. 鈥淭he experience gave me a lot of confidence in the work that I do and my abilities as a professional.鈥�
While Poublon put her studies on pause during the co-op, she still had track and field practices to attend. So for seven months, from June to January, she went to work at 5:30 a.m., left at 3:15 in the afternoon for practice until 6:30, then returned home for dinner and bed at 8 p.m.
鈥淎t one point toward the end of the year, I didn鈥檛 see the light of day,鈥� Poublon says. 鈥淚鈥檇 see the sun on the weekend, which was odd.鈥�
Poublon鈥檚 discipline is paying off. At the ECAC/IC4A Indoor Championships this winter, she finished third in the high jump with a personal-best of 5 feet, 8 inches. At the America East Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, she finished second in her other event, the pentathlon.
鈥淪he has become a more well-rounded athlete,鈥� says head coach , who awarded Poublon an athletic scholarship based on her first-year performance with the team. 鈥淪he has gotten better each year.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 glad to be part of such a great group,鈥� says Poublon, who volunteered to compete in the pentathlon as a sophomore to help her team earn more points in meets. 鈥淢y coaches and teammates are so supportive.鈥澛�
After such a positive experience at Raytheon (where she even got to see products loaded onto a jumbo cargo jet to be shipped overseas), Poublon is setting her sights on another co-op or internship, this time more in the marketing realm. That includes another try at Kronos.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e only in college once,鈥� Poublon says. 鈥淚鈥檒l gladly push out school an extra semester for another co-op. You can鈥檛 get that kind of experience and make those kind of connections in the classroom.鈥�