My name is Karen De La Torre, and I am a first-generation graduate. My parents are my heart and soul and have always encouraged me to pursue and create opportunities. I currently work at Daimler Truck North America at their Portland Truck Manufacturing Plant as a Production Supervisor but am currently working on a special project through the Lean Expert Qualification Program that Daimler offers. (timeline reflected below) I have a passion for manufacturing and a mission to encourage women to take over the manufacturing industry. The reason why I decided to pursue my MBA was because of COVID. The world was in an uncertain time, and it felt like it was the perfect time to invest my time and pursue my MBA. However, as I started the program, I realized that this MBA program at this time was the perfect choice for me. I had learned more about myself and pushed myself to become the person I wish I had been when I was growing up. But I also did this for my parents. I wanted to show them that their sacrifice has given my siblings and me the opportunity to live the life they wanted for us.
| 4:00 AM | Alarm Clock goes off (Hits snooze) |
| 4:09 AM | Hit Snooze again |
| 4:20 AM | Gets out of bed |
| 4:22 AM | Brushes teeth, brushes hair and applies makeup |
| 4:50 AM | Gets dressed, grabs a backpack and work laptop, and heads downstairs |
| 4:52 AM | Packs breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the day (sometimes makes coffee) |
| 5:00 AM | Says goodbye to Hudson the husky and out the door |
| 5:30 AM | Arrive at the Portland Truck Manufacturing Plant employee parking lot |
| 5:40 AM | Gets settled in and prepares for the first meeting of the day |
| 6:00 AM | Production starts |
| 6:20 AM | The project team meets me in the project room awaiting for the days daily task |
| 6:40 AM | The team disassembles |
| 6:50 AM | Checks emails and any follow-ups |
| 7:00 AM | Eats breakfast (usually oatmeal with fruit) |
| 7:05 AM | Work on data analysis and project preparation. (Lots of waterfall graphs and PowerPoints) |
| 7:30 AM | Walk the production line, greet the team and walk the pre-paint chassis production line and observe the progress of the Lean expert project |
| 8:05 AM | 1st break of the day |
| 8:15 AM | Production starts |
| 8:16 AM | Continue on data collecting, PowerPoint prep, discuss training topics with the trainer, and scope out new (and old) solutions. |
| 10:30 AM | Meeting with project leader for daily updates |
| 10:45 AM | Lunchtime |
| 11:15 AM | Production starts |
| 11:20 AM | Walk the production line again, gather feedback from ongoing trials in the area and work with cross-functional teams on solutions |
| 1:05 PM | Break time |
| 1:15 PM | Production starts |
| 1:20 PM | Starts to close out loose ends for the day and gathers topics for a recap meeting |
| 2:00 PM | Recap meeting- Project team assembly’s back together |
| 2:30 PM | End of production shift |
| 2:35 PM | Set up tasks for tomorrow. Meeting with project lead and trainer |
| 3:30 PM | Goes home (on a good day) |
| 4:00 PM | Arrives home |
| 4:10 PM | Makes dinner and wine down |
| 5:30 PM | Look at the day’s homework assignments and readings to complete |
| 7:30 PM | Shower |
| 8:00 PM | Wind down before bed. Shuts off all electronics. Reads for 30 mins |
| 8:30 PM | Lights out (on a good day) |
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