John Clement, an English major at the UCF Burnett Honors College, interned over the summer at Lennar Corporation, one of the nation’s largest home building companies. John received the opportunity as part of the BHC’s TALENT (Transforming Aspiring Leaders through Experience, Networking and Training) program, where students spend the summer working with local businesses, non-profit organizations and corporations.
Clubs Involved With: Vice president of Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, a member of the UCF Navigators and vice president of Future Technical Communicators
Did you always want to become a writer?
I’ve wanted to become a writer for as long as I can remember. Since I was young, I have loved to read stories, write, and learn new words. Occasionally, I even used to write my own short storybooks out of scrap paper and markers. Throughout high school, English and journalism were two of my favorite courses. Journalism in particular piqued my interest because it had me explore writing outside the context of essays and papers. During my three years as a student journalist, I engaged in collaborative writing and came to appreciate writing as a process. For three years I worked with my classmates to compose, edit, and lay out the news, ultimately ascending to co-editor-in-chief. By that point, I knew I wanted more — I wanted to write as a career. And I was in for the long haul.
Why go into technical writing, specifically?
It was not until right before applying to college that I discovered technical writing. Before then, all I knew was that I was a skilled writer and that I was interested in technology. After doing some research and consulting my teachers for suggestions, I fell upon technical writing, a clear-cut field with everything I wanted rolled into one. By pursuing technical writing, I would develop a versatile set of skills, specifically improving my writing and editing skills as well as my technological proficiency. It was also detail-oriented, which is just my taste. Professionally, technical writing would give me options: technical writers can apply their skills to a range of different fields, not just computer science. Every company needs writers, especially as our world grows ever more digital; effectively communicating with consumers and lay audiences is a necessity for success.
How did you learn about the opportunity with Lennar?
This all started due to a (seemingly) random encounter with Dean Sheila [Piñeres] in the BHC lobby. I was working on a group project with two of my classmates and she happened to be passing by, stopping to ask what we were working on. From there, chatting led to talking about internships and career plans, and out of the blue, she offered to help us look for internship opportunities. I obliged, and over the next few weeks we kept in communication about potential openings and what jobs I was interested in.
One day near the end of the semester, I got a call from an unknown number. Not expecting anyone in particular, I answered, and the person on the other end introduced himself: it was Chris Marlin, president of Lennar International and BHC alumnus, and he had an opportunity for me. I would be lying if I said my brain didn’t freeze for a moment. Chris told me that he very recently talked to Sheila over lunch. It was then that she recommended me for an internship position at Lennar where I would work with him over the summer. After telling me more about the company, we arranged that I would send him my resume and a few writing samples and that he would stay in contact.
Minutes later, I got an email from Sheila telling me that I should expect a call from him soon. Turns out that Chris wastes no time.
Did you get a chance to interact with Chris Marlin while interning?
Yes I did! I worked on several writing projects for him and we kept in communication over the summer. He travels often so we mostly interacted digitally, but when we did get to talk face-to-face it was always a pleasure. He’s brilliant, ambitious, and down-to-earth, and that energy easily rubs off on those around him. Chris has a wealth of knowledge and life experience to share. On top of giving me valuable tips to improve my writing, he also gave me life advice, encouraging me to think of the big picture as I plan out what I want to do after college. For instance, before I traveled back to UCF for the fall, we shared lunch, and in that conversation he inspired me to travel and expose myself to different cultures and disciplines. It’s a simple idea, but he reminded me that there is great big world out there just waiting to be explored.
When were you at Lennar, and where was the internship located?
My internship at Lennar took place at their HQ in Miami, FL. It lasted about two and a half months from late May to early August of this year.
What was your first impression when you arrived at Lennar?
Lennar left a great first impression on me. From my first steps into my workplace at their Miami HQ, I was amazed. The building was modern, spacious, and just screamed “innovation.” I was placed on the international team and soon met my coworkers, all of [whom] were welcoming and glad to help me with whatever I needed to situate me into my new job. Also, I quickly found out about certain traditions that Lennar practices: everyone is given a name badge to encourage getting to know each others’ names. Workers are not called employees, but rather, associates. Little things like that are exactly what made me enthused to work with Lennar — from day one, I already felt like a valued addition to the Lennar family.
What did you do while interning at Lennar?
While at Lennar, I worked on a variety of writing projects. My largest research topic was to analyze the demographics of two locations — Chicago and Indianapolis. The process of doing that involved referencing sources, such as the U.S. Census, then compiling my findings into a document. I would also create Excel sheets and find graphics to illustrate that data. For example, if I found that a significant portion of Chicago’s population was Chinese and mainly lived in certain areas, I would record that, and do the same for other populations and locations. Data like that would help Lennar with its marketing practices moving into the future as they identify where to build new homes and how to advertise.
Additionally, I worked on updating Lennar’s International Home Buyers Guide. The guide would be a tool used by buyers and sellers around the world who are interested in investing in homes in U.S. real estate. As such, I needed to research home sale statistics across the globe and update old pages of the guide to match new data, all the while writing my own new pages. The document is a mix of information about home buying trends around the world, statistics about the benefits of living in the US, and advertising of Lennar homes.
What did you learn about yourself in the process?
I learned how much I enjoy working on teams. During my first few days at Lennar I was focused on getting all my work done, hardly talking to anyone, but as I got more comfortable, I became more open and tried to get to know everybody. From there, I came to enjoy coming to work more and more. I liked writing in and of itself, but doing it alongside coworkers who I could always learn new things from or just chat with made it a joy.
What lessons or insights did you take away from the internship? How do you think the experience will influence you going forward, and into your future career?
Being in an environment where, during lunch I could listen to stories about Brazil one second, and be learning Chinese words the next, was an enriching experience. It gave me an appreciation of cultures outside of my own, and a will to continue to learn about them. This applies on the financial level as well. Market research showed me that cultural values vary widely, and even affect things like the home buying process. Investors in some countries buy homes based on how close they are to high-quality school districts, while others first focus on the size of the home, because their whole family lives under one roof. Factors like that show just how different and varied people’s experiences around the world are, and why it’s important for me to consider that in everything I do.
Regarding my career, working at Lennar taught me that I can take my desire to write and apply it to many places. I entered the internship knowing next to nothing about finance, but before I knew it I was gaining a foundation in it and writing about the home sale market. I never even imagined ending up in a position like that, but I loved what I did. It goes to show that writing is a versatile field, one in which I can confidently explore a range of other fields to apply my writing to. I don’t have to pin myself down to just one as long as I have the willingness to learn, and it might just end up being the calling I never knew I had.