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Pulte Takes the Lead in Hispanic Internship Program
Completing their internships at Pulte Homes, this year’s Team Builders students have gained an inside understanding of how a major home building company conducts its day-to-day operations.
A joint effort of the Home Builders Institute (HBI) and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s (HHF) Latinos on Fast Track (LOFT) program, Team Builders was created to increase Latino representation in the home building industry’s managerial ranks.
Students participating in the program are introduced to the home building industry and Pulte Homes and then placed at job sites and offices across the country, according to their area of study.
Juan Flores, an applied economics senior at the University of the Pacific, completed his internship in the customer relations department at Pulte’s Central Valley, Calif. office. He was able to gain a variety of experience, including managing service requests and volunteering his weekend time for marketing events and team building activities.
“It’s painful to lose him,” said Flores’ supervisor Ralph Baja. “He was that good. We’re very thankful that he was referred to our division and Juan is exactly the caliber of leader we’re looking to hire.”
Pulte is an awesome company to work for,” said Flores. “I would definitely rate this internship experience a 10 out of 10.”
 Maria Rodriguez, a junior international business management and accounting major at the University of South Florida, worked for the sales department in Pulte’s Orlando office. Her experiences included rotation duties, property presentations to clients, English-to-Spanish translations, sales meetings and computer systems training. She attended Realtor® networking events and was even the featured guest and speaker for a Pulte Homes diversity and inclusion council.
“Maria is great,” said her supervisor, Beatriz Rivera. “She was the perfect match for this office and the entire team is proud to have participated in her career development.”
Rodriguez said that she entered the internship program without much knowledge of Pulte or home building. However, in just 10 weeks her interests in housing grew enormously and she is now considering pursuing career opportunities within the industry.
Pulte brought 11 students into the company for the Team Builders program.
“These interns came into our organization at a very tumultuous time, but we gave them a world-class experience,” said Kari Lawry, director of recruiting and diversity at Pulte Homes. “They excited us with their energy, capacity to learn quickly and ability to provide concrete value in such a short period of time. Best of all, they each said that despite the current downturn in the industry, they loved Pulte Homes and would happily accept full-time positions as they become available.”
Beazer Homes served as Team Builders’ first sponsor in 2006.
Following its 2007 sponsorship, Pulte Homes plans to continue the program through the summer of 2008. The company is also sending eight of this year’s interns to NAHB Student Chapter events at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando as Pulte Homes Ambassadors.
For more information on Team Builders, e-mail Page Browning at HBI, or call her at 800-795-7955 x8918.
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