Bringing my first week to a close, our groups had the chance to network with some of the most important people guiding our project. Going into our first client meeting, I was honestly stressed about asking the right questions and coming across professionally. I didn’t want to ask too little or too much. Once I talked things through with my team, we built our questions together and created a solid plan. We first met with Erin McLaughlin, the Ireland Site Director for All People Be Happy and our main connection to the Carrigart community. We also met with Pitt Business EIR Joe Pietropola, who served as Senior Vice President of customer experience and data analytics at Dicks Sporting Goods. Hearing both perspectives gave my group, Digital Disruptions and Innovations, the clearest direction we’ve had so far.
Erin helped each group understand the community on a deeper level and develop a more realistic plan of action. For us, the biggest takeaway was learning that Carrigart residents may not be immediately receptive to technology or AI, which forced us to rethink our entire consulting strategy. We came in confident but left embarrassed after realizing we didn’t properly introduce ourselves and jumped straight into questions, while assuming the client knew more than we did. It was humbling, but it led us to reset our mindset before meeting Joe.
Lunch with Joe Pietropola ended up being one of the most influential business conversations I’ve had since arriving at Pitt. Hearing the stories of someone who worked their way up and led major digital transformations at huge companies was eye-opening. I asked him every question I could think of, and he gave honest advice about consulting, career paths, and how to stand out. I even got his number afterward so I could continue my conversation about my future goals and career path.
Overall, I grew the most this Friday and ended the day on a high note at Picklesburgh. I had never heard of Picklesburgh until two days ago, but it is absolutely worth the hype. We tried every pickle-related food imaginable, including pickle iced tea. I’m definitely starting to feel more at home here as I bond with my fellow students and roommates.