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(graduate student feedback below)
or click and go to undergraduate feedback |
July 2010
To
start, I would definitely recommend DRI to friends/family/etc. for
internships and volunteering. You mentioned that you and John
discussed the specifics of our work here, so I won’t go into that,
but I will say that the greatest part about DRI is that it is like a
buffet where you can try a little bit of everything in I-O
psychology. As an undergrad in a general psych program it was hard
for me to grasp the breadth and scope of consulting, but getting to
see so many different processes from start to finish has been hugely
beneficial. I also love that DRI is casual, relaxed, and very
well-suited for training. We try to be very structured in our way of
doing things, and there is no such thing as a dumb question, which
makes the process more clear and easier to learn. I also really
appreciate that the staff here are open to what everyone has to
offer. Even as an undergrad, I was encouraged to question methods,
propose solutions, and share my knowledge. This has been a big boost
of confidence, and has allowed me to really be involved in the
process. Both as an intern and as an employee, I have been able to
be the project lead on many client and internal projects. Being able
to see not only the client work, but also how the business is run,
has created a really well-rounded experience for me.
Chelsea Berryman, Undergraduate Intern and Post grad staff (Dec 2009
to present) |
July 2009
Completing my pre-doctoral internship at DRI Consulting was an
amazing journey. Transitioning from counseling psychology, I
appreciated the person-centered philosophies that DRI operates from
and was amazed by the way in which psychology and business could
mesh. It was extraordinarily interesting to engage in individual,
team, and organizational-level work – sometimes all in one day!
Pre-selection assessments, executive coaching, team development,
leadership development, and organizational culture surveying were
just some of the areas where I received extensive training. DRI
Consulting offers these unique opportunities to get real-world
training in consulting psychology – something that is very difficult
to come by in the Twin Cities area.
The developmental model of training used by DRI encourages and
allows one to move toward independent practice as they are ready and
able – truly affording trainees the opportunity to shape their
experience and exposure throughout their program. I am very
grateful to have had the opportunity to train with Dr. John Fennig
and Dr. Victoria Littlefield and to learn from the talented DRI
staff whom I am now pleased to call colleagues!
Megan Brogger, Pre-Doctoral Intern (July 2008-2009) |
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May 2009
"Starting off as a practicum student at DRI
Consulting, and then serving as an intern, helped me break into the
world of consulting psychology and realize just what it is I wanted
to do with my life. For me, working at DRI Consulting bridged the
worlds of psychology and business, and provided me with invaluable
opportunities to develop employees and grow myself along the way. I
am convinced that I would not have had such excellent opportunities
to perform coaching, recruitment and selection procedures,
leadership development programming, team building, and
organizational development work with any other company in the metro
area. I am grateful and wish to extend many sincere thanks to Dr.
John Fennig and Dr. Tori Littlefield for putting forth the time and
effort needed to run a training shop not only for my betterment and
that of individual students, but ultimately for the advancement of
certain organizations and the field of consulting psychology. I also
want to thank Dr. Norman James, Heather Mortensen, Heather Johnson,
Megan Brogger, Amy Feist, Maureen Boxrud, and Jon Zimmer for guiding
me through my three years at the firm, and making the work
environment more enjoyable. You will be missed!"
Katie Olson, practicum and pre-doc intern 2006 to
2009
July 2008
John and DRIC Staff:
Thank you for the opportunity to spend a year at
DRI Consulting. The growth I experienced, both personally and
professionally, has been immeasurable. The “Learning to
Leading” paradigm afforded me the chance to shadow some of the best
in the field and then use what I learned to lead my own projects
from proposal to completion.
The model for training at DRI is challenging,
while at the same time, developmentally appropriate. I really
appreciate the fact that the DRI philosophy is rooted in Counseling
Psychology. The goal is always to respect the unique qualities
of the individual and their situation, while at the same time, look
at behavior and personality in the context of organizational
success.
The training at DRI is truly second to none.
John and staff offer students a rare opportunity to “try out the
waters” of Organizational Psychology. Many thanks to all of
you for your wisdom, guidance, and support.
Heather Johnson, Doctoral Candidate (Practicum
Student 2007-2008)
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June 2008
Hi John,
I had to take a moment to express a “thank you.”
This morning I was in a meeting that was quite unstructured and,
although there may be times when a lack of structure is appropriate,
this group is in a time crunch for deliverables so the lack of
structure contributed to confusion. Anyway, long story short, I
found myself coaching the leader at the end of the meeting and
making suggestions about ensuring he is clear about the goals for
the meeting and what he wants to accomplish by meeting end, what
type of meeting he is holding, and to communicate these things at
the onset. There were a few more tools – Parking Lot – I suggested
he use to keep the group on track which he appreciated.
My training at DRIC provided me with a solid base of knowledge,
skills and abilities to successfully perform in all positions I have
held since leaving.
Sincere thanks.
Sheryl
Sheryl Radcliffe
Director of Talent Development and Organization Learning
Human Resources
Insurance Company of the West
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Hi Dr. Fennig, Hope you're well!
First, this is not a standard thank you note. This is from my
heart and I mean every word with the greatest sincerity.
Thank you for thinking of me and asking me to support Tori this
past week.
It was a phenomenal experience. Tori was a blast to work with and
learn from. I so appreciate her openness to me, her generosity in
having me participate with the group, and her candid discussions
about the process and individual participants. Because of this, I
was able to learn more about the LDP, obtain invaluable perspective
about my own work and progress, and learn about adult learning.
With regard to the LDP- I was able to observe the difference in
the quality of the experience when the group wants to be there vs a
group who is essentially asked to be there. This is a significant
difference! The energy, willingness to participate, the effort to
apply the new info/concepts to themselves is coming from them
instead of from the facilitator. The former scenario makes for a
much more interesting experience from the facilitator's point of
view.
The group was also very open and receptive to me. I was thrilled
to be able to have some one-on-ones with a few people and support
them through a question or some difficulty.
My learning and experience happened on so many levels it is
difficult to write it all out. Thank you, thank you, thank you for
giving me this opportunity.
Take care,
Kopitzee Parra-Thornton, Doctoral Candidate November 2006 |
The pre-doctoral internship at DRI
Consulting helped me gain the skills and experience I needed to have
a career in consulting psychology.
Through DRIC, I was able to work on
high-level projects with well known organizations and corporations
like Target, Radio Shack, the Army Corps of Engineers, the City of
Minneapolis, and the Society of Consulting Psychology.
DRIC provided the tools, training, and
opportunities I needed to develop longstanding client relationships
and work within the field. DRIC has one of the few formal
pre-doctoral internships nation-wide that offer such possibilities
in management consulting!
My experience at DRIC has gotten me
noticed by other consulting firms and has helped tremendously in my
post-doctoral job search!
Gary Dumais, Psy.D. May
2004
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I spent a full year
with DRI Consulting - three months longer than the required nine
months for practicum. From the time I was invited to join the firm as
a practicum student, I was welcomed into the organization as a
consultant, and treated as an employee, with my own workstation and
client responsibilities. The staff of DRI recognized my potential and
was confident in including me in all client work. I was able to
complete my required client contact hours, and the staff was eager to
help me reach those goals. DRI Consulting is a great learning
environment for a student interested in consulting psychology, who is
also able to challenge themselves and their perceptions of the role of
psychology in business, and in an individual’s life and work.
Keely Orchard,
M.A. June 2003 |
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My post-doctoral year at DRI
Consulting was really invaluable in teaching me about about the
"real-world" of consulting: what kind of services are really useful to
managers and executives; general business terms and concepts; the
importance of being a good team player with another consultants; and
the satisfaction of working hard and making an impact on an
organization.
I think I've learned more
in one year and in the previous four in a PhD program! I've learned
that I really love coaching, training, and assessment. Many thanks to
John, Mark, Tori, Janice, Justin, Keely and Karlene for all they've
done in helping me grow both personally and professionally.
Brian A. Buford, Ph.D.
July 2002 |
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Craig Hunter (Did this just before his pre-doctoral internship)
My internship with DRI Consulting was exactly what I had been looking for. I had
wanted to get a feel for organizational consulting, but I was not quite sure how
I would do that. I was very pleased with the amount of opportunities to gain
hands-on experience. I found management assessment and coaching to be particularly
rewarding. Other experiences included, but were not limited to career assessment
and counseling, project management, and sales.
I strongly recommend this internship site to undergraduate or graduate students
who would like to find out what organizational psychology is all about and to
graduate students who have had training in the field, but would like to gain
more hands-on experience.
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September 8, 1999 (just prior to his pre-doctoral internship)
Dear John,
I truly enjoyed working with you this summer at DRI Consulting. You are wonderful
teacher and a very good organizational consultant. I hope there is an opportunity for
us to work together again.
I would highly recommend DRI Consulting to any interns, who are looking for an
experience working in the field of Industrial/Organizational Psychology. From the
beginning, I was exposed to many different aspects of organizational
consulting and running a business. Dr. Fennig treated me as a professional
and involved me quickly in the projects that DRI Consulting were working on.
John was very focused on making my internship at DRI Consulting as useful
and positive as it could be for me. He was aware of my goals for the internship
and was genuinely interested in helping me meet all of those goals. John sees
almost every situation as a teachable moment (which allowed me to gain considerable
knowledge in a short period of time). He would invite the interns to participate
or listen in on all interactions with clients. Because of this style of instruction,
I learned much more than I had expected. I would strongly encourage anyone who is
willing to work hard and is interested in organizational consulting to consider
applying to DRI Consulting for an internship.
Thank you again John for the opportunity to work for DRI Consulting is past summer.
And thank you also to the staff at DRI Consulting, it was a pleasure working with
you and hope you're all doing well. Take care, and I hope you're all doing well.
Sincerely your friend,
Mark Sander, M.A.
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(undergraduate)
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Mike Lehn (business
assistant for 2 years with us)
I had some good news to
share with you. I applied for and was accepted as next year's Business
Manager for our school newspaper. It's a fairly small
responsibility, requiring
only 2 to 3 hours per week. The job description is
somewhat similar to my
duties at DRI. I'm excited to take what you and others
there have taught me and
put it to use for another organization. Thanks again
for the great opportunity
you gave me.
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Steve Parsons
Note about internship at DRI Consulting
(undergrad)
My time at DRI
Consulting was short, but it was time well spent. The internship
was not always fun, but I think that it taught me some very valuable
lessons about the worlds of psychology and business and the mixture
of the two.
For someone who is
majoring in psychology or even interested in it, I would certainly
recommend DRI Consulting. I received excellent exposure to the
world of consulting psychology and how many other companies would
allow there undergraduate students to sit in on a consultation
(given permission by client). For someone like myself, interested
in psychology and business, I got twice the exposure. Not
only did I learn more about an area of psychology, but I also saw
the business side of the company.
One of the great
things about the internship was “the different hats” I wore each day
(quoting John Fennig). Each project was different and there was not
typical day. I had a nice balance of brainless tasks,
fun/challenging projects, and misc. jobs. In addition, I was able
to sit in on a few consultations and client discussions (which was
certainly my favorite aspect of the job). |
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Gail Winter's Intern Testimonial:
My internship experience at DRI Consulting provided me with incredible opportunity.
I was brought into an atmosphere that thrives on learning. The staff here are as
interested in providing you with knowledge as they are in receiving it from you. My
goal for the semester was to figure out what consulting was all about and whether
it is something I would enjoy pursuing a career in. I was given the opportunity to
find out both. Being a part of a small company was advantageous because I could be
a part of, and was asked to be a part of, everything. Along with having the chance to
help with creating client workshops and being a part of the presentation of those, I
also was given a project to lead for the semester. I created my own project plan and
monitored the progress of the project to finish. I really enjoyed the opportunity to
learn about management.
A surprise gain I am coming away with is an increased knowledge of computer programs.
DRIC has updated technology, and I found myself being trained in and experimenting on
programs that I have never heard of before. I majored in psychology and gaining
knowledge in a variety of areas was an added benefit to my semester with DRIC. The
contacts and resources that you find through this internship are incredible. John
knows somebody in everything, or can tell you how to get there.
Through interning with DRIC, I met some wonderful people, learned a lot about
consulting, and had an experience that gave me knowledge about myself. I quantified
my wants and needs, and decided where I want to be, and what I want to do and be
when I grow up.
Gail Winters
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TO: John
FROM: Bob Brice
I've really benefited from working with the current technology at DRIC. When
I first started at DRIC, I knew very little about World Wide Web development and
maintenance. Throughout the internship, I have grown confident and competent
in my ability to edit and maintain a website. This will prove very valuable in my
career search as well as helping achieve my personal goal of establishing a high
comfort level with new technologies.
Also, the career advising has been extremely helpful. By completing the battery
of psychological assessments before joining the staff, I'm able to see my world and
myself in a clearer way. As I leave DRIC, I take great comfort in knowing that
I have a three-ring binder of those tests to reference should I grow confused about
my interests and skills.
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DRI Consulting (John),
Thank you
so much for the opportunity you gave me to be an intern with you this year. I have learned a great deal from this
experience. I can already see how it has affected my life.
I wish you much success in the future. John, thank you also for
the very generous gift of money. Thank you for the friendship I
have found with DRIC as well. I hope to be able to stop in
from time to time to see how you are!
Good Luck and God Bless,
Missy Van Gorp
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