All Good Things Must Come to an End?

My experience with Mars Chocolate was incredible from beginning to end. To start out, the position sort of just fell into my lap at the exact moment I needed it. Despite not being an official industrial engineer (since my degree is in mechanical), I was able to meet the minimum qualifications and I got an offer. I knew the work would be challenging, and it certainly was. Usually, this was something I appreciated. I enjoy constantly learning and I knew any knowledge gained would only help my career in the future. Plus, my coworkers were more than understanding when I had questions and were almost always really helpful. Not to mention they were generally fun to be around and a few became my friends.

At first it was tough to bring the sad news to Mars that I would be leaving. Partly I felt guilty for being there for such a short time. Also I felt frustrated that all my personal efforts to learn how to do my job well were wasted, since I had just started to really get the hang of things. Plus, I felt more than a little anxious that my next job would never be able to measure up to everything I loved about working for Mars.

Visiting Urbana-Champaign for the first time helped a lot. Instead of the upcoming move being a huge question mark in my mind, I was able to picture my new apartment, the little shops and restaurants downtown, and the friendly people I had met. Making a few connections that would lead to some potential employment opportunities didn't hurt either!

Once I got excited about the upcoming move, I was able to dive into the task of finishing off my work well. I finally forced myself to tackle that to-do list of items I'd been putting off. In the end, my last week at Mars turned out to be one of my busiest, since I was so determined to get everything done! I was working hard up until my last minute there, when they handed me a 72-count box of Snickers, wished me well, and pushed me out the door. By the way, would anyone like a Snickers? ;)

And can I just say, who would have ever thought I would get to work in a chocolate factory?! I can't even say it was a dream come true - it was beyond my wildest imagination!