‘This Has Been an Awesome Experience’: West Point Cadet Wraps Up Exchange Internship
Before West Point Cadet Zachary “Zach” Hall began his Exchange internship July 1, he was unfamiliar with Exchange’s deployment program for associates. By the time his internship ended July 16, he had learned a lot – and the Exchange learned from him as well.
“The Exchange really means it when it says it wants to be at the tip of the spear,” Hall said. “It will go anywhere there are troops and provide services, whether it’s with a full PX or a trailer with goods.”
West Point Cadet Zachary “Zach” Hall holds a letter from Dr. Patrick Oldenburgh, Exchange chief Human Resources officer, with an HR coin in the frame. Hall worked out of the U.S. Military Academy Exchange during his two-week HR internship, known at West Point as Advanced Individual Academic Development.
Exemplifying the Exchange’s “We go where you go” motto, the associates volunteer to deploy to the tip of the spear to support service members. Deployment opportunities are currently available in Europe, specifically in the Balkans, and in Southwest Asia.
Based at the U.S. Military Academy Exchange and working primarily with Human Resources, Hall, a junior majoring in behavioral science and leadership at West Point, researched how the Exchange can attract and retain teammates to deploy.
“We had several ‘a-ha’ moments based on his interviews with different agencies and former deployment volunteers,” said HR Talent Manager Norris Watkins, who coached Hall virtually during his internship. “It was wonderful getting a new perspective on how we can enhance the overall deployment program when it comes to marketing.”
One of Hall’s suggestions was to use associates who had previously deployed to help new volunteers with deployment requirements locally, in addition to mentoring from headquarters, Watkins said.
Hall also researched how to improve internal recruiting for deployment; and how to attract external candidates for deployment, focusing primarily on Veterans who became familiar with the Exchange during their military careers. On July 16, he gave a presentation about his findings.
“It has been a pleasure working with Zach throughout this process,” Watkins said. “He learned a lot about the benefits that we provide and how we compare to other DoD agencies who hire individuals for deployment purposes.”
West Point Cadet Zachary “Zach” Hall with Katy Litterer, general manager of the West Point Exchange, which hosted Hall during his HR internship.
Hall also learned about store operations during his internship. Although he had visited the Exchange before and knows the West Point campus well, there were still some revelations.
“The Exchange provides all the goods that are issued to the candidates at the prep school here at West Point, so it’s in charge of distributing the goods on R Day,” he said, referring to West Point’s Reception Day. “That’s something cool about the Exchange that I never knew.”
West Point General Manager Katy Litterer said the store’s team enjoyed hosting Hall.
“It was a rewarding experience for Cadet Hall and for the West Point team,” Litterer said. “He offered a fresh perspective on our day-to-day operations. It was our honor to host him and to support HR.”
Internships, which West Point refers to as Advanced Individual Academic Development (AIAD), are required for graduation.
Hall will next participate in a two-week Master Resiliency Training course before taking a brief break and then returning to West Point in August to start the fall semester.
“This has been an awesome experience,” Hall said. “I’ve had a chance to see some of the work that the Exchange does for the military community. It’s been eye-opening. I’ve learned a lot about the deployment process and all the good the Exchange tries to do, and how it is like a family here.”
