Kristen Shorer

In her last internship, Kristen worked across the public and private sectors and engaged with a variety of our clients to help them understand and win over the people who matter most.

Specifically, Kristen worked with the team to conduct qualitative research, helped articulate and set compelling strategic directions, and supported in the facilitation of a variety of staff retreats.

Kristen is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in communications at Wilfrid Laurier University, and has just returned to MacPhie for her second internship.

Questions for Kristen:

1. What did you find most enjoyable about your experience at MacPhie?
   The overall work environment and culture. With a really awesome and small group of people, work is actually fun! Also, with activities like book club, Friday celebration, and gin with a genius, there is no shortage of interesting discussion and team building.
2. Do you feel you were challenged in your role at MacPhie?
   Absolutely. MacPhie holds a high standard for quality of work and expects interns to contribute value. As an employee at MacPhie I felt like a member of the team, not a temporary summer student. I had several opportunities to work with colleagues on major client projects, share my ideas, and make real contributions.
3. What was the most valuable thing you learned at MacPhie?
   How to transform the complex into the simple. At MacPhie, I was often involved in sorting through research from facilitations, focus groups, interviews, surveys, and brainstorming sessions; through these processes I improved my ability to uncover the main ideas in order to deliver key insights.
4. What was your most memorable experience at MacPhie?
   After several days of preparation, I had the opportunity to attend a staff retreat for a public sector organization. It was really rewarding to watch my work be put into action and be able to make a real difference in a client engagement. During the retreat, I had the chance to engage in discussion around my table and watch Hugh do one of the things that he does best: motivate and facilitate discussion. By the end of the day we had collected valuable input on values, guiding principles, and next steps from across all staff. It was a truly fascinating experience.