Summer Intern Spotlight: Katherine Vonder Haar 28BBA at The Home Depot
Every summer, Goizueta Business School students from all programs step out of the classroom and into internships at companies around the world. These experiences are not just about gaining practical skills; they often lead to lasting memories, powerful insights, and sometimes even job offers.
In this series, we’ll highlight several students who completed exciting internships this summer, sharing their journeys, challenges, and triumphs. Stay tuned to discover the incredible work our students have been involved in and the valuable lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Here, we speak with Katherine Vonder Haar 28BBA, who interned this summer as a Supply Chain Intern at The Home Depot.
Tell us a little about yourself and what interested you in pursuing this internship opportunity.
This past summer, I joined The Home Depot’s FDC Engineering Team as a Supply Chain Intern. I am a 2028 BBA majoring in Business (ISOM and Finance) and minoring in AI.
From my previous internship experience and ISOM classes at Goizueta, I knew I wanted to explore opportunities in Supply Chain. The Home Depot not only had a great internship program, but also a mature and complex Supply Chain that I knew would be a great opportunity to learn from.
What were your primary responsibilities as a supply chain intern, and what did a typical day look like?
At The Home Depot, every intern is given a project to complete on their team. I was directed to build a Warehouse Slotting Assignment Application by my manager and team, which involved research and vibe coding.
In addition to working on my project, there were speaker events almost every day for interns, and we were assigned an AI certification program to work on as well. We were also encouraged to network and meet with people from the company.
A typical day started at 8 AM and began by interviewing a warehouse manager for my project, coding my app, sitting in on a panel about different divisions at The Home Depot, lunch with the other interns, an update meeting with my manager and mentor, and coffee with someone from another team before wrapping up with emails and leaving the office at 5 PM.
Can you tell us about a project or assignment you worked on during your internship?
My main project was building an app to slot SKUs in a warehouse. The app took in SKUs, identified variables like size, and then output a shelf location for the SKU to be stored.
In addition to this app, I also built another application that provides re-slotting recommendations based on changes in SKU popularity. Finally, I built an app that measured the use of the first two apps to iterate and improve implementation– a concept I learned at Emory!
At the end of the 10-week internship, I presented these deliverables to 50 people, including the Supply Chain Executives at The Home Depot.
What skills or knowledge from your Goizueta coursework have you been able to apply in your role?
Two main classes influenced my role this Summer:
In Steve Walton’s ISOM 351 we learned about Supply Chain. Specifically, utilization, bottlenecks, and process improvement were the most important concepts for me. This Summer, I was able to apply abstract concepts in class to real-world situations. This allowed me to catch up with the team quickly and understand the problem and goals.
In Jake Jo’s OAM 330, we learned about implementing change in organizations. I used the process he taught us to implement a change, my new project, into the team and organization. This helped me create buy-in and iterate and improve.
Is there a particular experience, accomplishment, or interaction from the summer that has stood out to you?
My team traveled weekly to distribution centers across the country, and that took me to Newark, New Jersey, for a week. I walked the warehouse floor, watched new technology get implemented in real time, and demonstrated the app I had built to the people who would actually use it. It was the moment the internship stopped feeling like a project and started feeling like real business impact.
How has this internship shaped your interests or influenced what you may want to pursue in the future?
Throughout the internship, I learned that I value ownership and business impact in a role. The engineering team was organized in a way that allows everyone to own their own project. I really enjoyed the aspect of making decisions and having ownership over my work; it felt more meaningful.
Additionally, I noticed my desire to understand what the business impact would be at every decision point: how would this impact KPIs? This step also added meaning and improved decision-making.
Going forward, I will search for roles where I can own decisions and measure business impact.
What advice would you give other Goizueta students preparing to search for or begin an internship?
Searching for and securing internships is difficult and requires networking to stand out. Not having an existing network can feel intimidating, but it is possible to build your own! Find Emory Alumni at the company through LinkedIn and schedule calls to learn about their experiences, role, and the company. Build genuine connections and the right opportunities will work out!
Starting an internship can also feel intimidating, but small and consistent practices will help you stand out. Before your internship begins, bring a small notebook to prepare for meetings and coffee chats, plan action items, and keep notes during meetings. Beyond that, ask thoughtful, hypothesis-driven questions, send weekly updates of accomplishments and next steps for your manager (and reflection for you later), and be consistent with time and communication. Enthusiasm and communication go a long way!
Explore more exciting student internships and the experiences that shaped their summer! Discover more here.
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