Peter Peschong, BBA 2005
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MIS Intern, Kimberly-Clark
From marching in the Longhorn Band to presiding over Management Information Systems Association (MISA)
meetings, Peter understands the value of groups. After two years of high school computer science
courses, where most of the work was individual output, he complained that "There’s nothing to
do other than code--no human interaction." Peter realized that his love for people and technology had to
be satisfied elsewhere. On a business school tour as a freshman, Peter first heard about MIS and
decided to find out more. Immediately, he found the perfect major and quickly learned that "It’s not
just the programming--it’s the people--the business."
Through his involvement with MISA activities like company nights, Peter was introduced to Kimberly-Clark. "You see Kleenex and Huggies, and you don’t think much about it; Kimberly-Clark has some great products and interesting initiatives." The representatives at the meeting left a great impression on him and through them he learned about the company’s culture. Even with other internship opportunities, Peter decided to go with his gut feeling and began his rewarding summer internship with Kimberly-Clark.
Most of Peter’s work was in the fascinating area of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). He was responsible for web reports that showed employees critical information about the supply chain and system testing regarding software vendors that used RFID to read, transfer, and convert information in a database. Throughout his internship Peter constantly met with employees, set up training for the new systems, and found out how his work would impact the company. Peter realized that Kimberly-Clark is just a really big team that has been split to solve problems as efficiently and effectively as possible. Peter would attribute much of his internship success to his experience at McCombs. He adds, "With homework, interviews, group projects, organization meetings, and everything else, students are prepared for an ever-changing environment."
For students looking for a similar internship, Peter would suggest that they (1) have a strongly self-motivated personality, (2) be flexible to change in routines and procedures, and most importantly, (3) learn to work well in groups.
His most memorable experience in the MIS program was the group project for 333K. "You are working so hard and everyone is struggling at the middle of the night. You build a lot of camaraderie like that." During the pure coding portion of the project, he saw his teammates for two to three days straight. "You really get to know someone better when you see them at 2 o’clock in the morning." This challenging experience includes his most embarrassing memory of when he fell asleep sitting straight up at a computer station. "It’s an experience you have to go through to really understand the whole insanity of it."
Peter’s favorite class in the MIS program is 375, Strategic Information Technology Management. Styled like an MBA class with cases and real-world business challenges, he loves getting to test out what he’s learned and see it all come together at the highest level.
Outside of class, Peter enjoys singing in his church choir and working with MISA. He has served as Technology Officer and President in previous semesters and currently holds the position of Vice-President of Planning.
