When I started my senior year at Lake Forest College, I needed an internship to graduate. I applied to many places, but the only one willing to take a chance on me was Focused Results. I’m glad they did, because completing my internship here has taught me valuable life lessons, skills, professionalism, and so much more.
Giving back to the community is one of the core values for the team at Focused Results. We primarily do this through our personal training and nutritional coaching that is designed to help you feel better, move better, and have an improved quality of life. Behind the scenes, past all the sweat, dumbbells, mats, and TRX straps, Zak and Kristen Rivera, owner and co-owner of the studio, are helping students in both high school and college achieve success.
I asked Zak a few questions about his involvement with the community and different ways he’s helped students, like myself, transition from higher education to a full-time job:
Have you partnered with any schools in the past for mentorship programs or internships? Why?
Zak: We partnered with Lake Forest College for internships and some mentor programs. We do this because we love to help the youth become professionals both in college and high school. We try to assist them in this way because the better experience we can give the students the more success they can have.
This is true for me, as Focused Results has taught me about the professional world and prepared me in a way that my college wasn’t able to. There are some things you learn outside the classroom.
What do you aim for when it comes to taking on an intern or mentorship?
Z: I look for an intern who is hungry and wanting to learn. I want them to be helpful of course, but having the fire to want to better themselves is important. I want my interns to have success after the internship is over and someone who has drive is vital in that success.
What’s one of your favorite memories from mentoring?
Z: One time I spoke at Waukegan high school and it was a very rewarding experience. The students asked great questions and loved to talk about their desires to own a small business some day. It was great to see their energy and passion.
The relationship Focused Results has with the college and local high schools is invaluable to the success of the students. Before I began my internship at Focused Results I thought I had all the answers to the professional world and could handle anything it threw at me. After interning with the studio for two months I realized that I knew very little and each day I went into the studio was a new learning experience. I never walked away without a piece of new information that helped me understand the business world.
There’s something to be said the relationship Focused Results has with the community. It’s a relationship centered around mentorship and guidance for the “new” generation. Zak and Kristen have cultivated an environment actively welcoming everyone with the goal of helping them achieve success. Many other internship sites I’ve worked at have said the same thing, but they never showed it. Focused Results showed me every day how to reach my goals and be successful and for that I’m grateful to have the opportunity to intern with the team here.
Alex is a Marketing Intern from Lake Forest College.
Contact us: results@fitwithfr.com | 224.880.5982
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