Summer Internship Spotlight: Vincent Guo (MBA’26), Amazon

Each year, our students spend their summers in Washington, D.C., across the nation, and around the world working in corporate, nonprofit, and government organizations. Meet a few of our graduate and undergraduate students in our Summer Internship Spotlight series.

This summer, Vincent Guo (MBA’26) worked with Amazon as a “Pathways” operations manager intern in San Diego, California. Pathways is a three-year operations leadership development program for MBA and masters-level graduates, aimed at cultivating Amazon’s future senior management. Here, Guo shares insights into his day-to-day work, the impactful projects he worked on, and key takeaways from his internship experience. 

Tell us about your internship.

I worked in a fast-paced environment, where every day we fostered Amazon’s 16 leadership principles – including “Customer Obsession,” “Dive Deep,” and “Invent and Simplify” – to strive for excellence and deliver smiles to our customers. 

How did your internship relate to your professional or personal interests? 

I come from an operations background, and the Pathways program is one of the few MBA hiring tracks that directly focuses on operations leadership. My prior experience and skillset closely aligned with the role, allowing me to skip the initial human resources phone screening and proceed directly to the final interview.

How did you find your internship?

Last year, Amazon hosted MBA-focused information sessions early in the summer before the recruiting season officially began. The McDonough Career Center also shared the opportunity via email. I applied online, completed the assessments, and successfully passed all interview rounds.

What is the most interesting or impactful thing you worked on during your internship?

I worked at a Sub Same-Day Fulfillment Center, a relatively new business model at Amazon that aims to deliver customer orders on the same day they are placed. My summer project focused on reducing dwell time for returned driver packages, ensuring faster reprocessing and improved customer experience. By the end of my internship, I successfully reduced dwell time by 60%.

What did a typical day look like?

My day often started early, sometimes as early as 5:30 a.m. I began by walking the floor and doing a handoff with the night shift manager in my assigned area. I spent about half of my time in the office analyzing dashboards and monitoring key metrics to ensure we were on track. The other half was spent on the floor, coaching associates, helping them prioritize tasks, and often offering hands-on support myself to help the team.

What advice do you have for other students when it comes to internships?

Use your internship as an opportunity to explore your career interests and expand your network. Be proactive, stay curious, and don’t hesitate to ask questions!