🌱 Seeds of Growth: Leshly's Corporate Work Study Experience

Leshly began her CWS journey at Buchalter, where she was introduced to the structure and pace of a professional office environment. In a legal setting that required precision and confidentiality, she learned the importance of organization, attention to detail, and professionalism. Supporting administrative tasks and observing the workflow of attorneys and staff gave her an early understanding of workplace expectations and accountability.

This experience helped her build strong foundational habits such as arriving prepared, managing time efficiently, and producing careful, accurate work—skills that would continue to shape her performance in future placements.

At GAP, Inc., Leshly’s primary responsibilities included reviewing claim and incident reports submitted by injured employees and creating clear summaries of each case. Through this work, she learned how to complete detailed forms and handle important documentation. She also assisted with wage reports, entering financial information to help determine Workers’ Compensation payments. These responsibilities gave her a better understanding of how the Risk Management Department operates and strengthened her attention to detail.

Here, Leshly strengthened her productivity and multitasking skills. She frequently balanced assignments from multiple supervisors, managed overlapping deadlines, and learned to use office equipment and technology to complete tasks quickly and accurately. She discovered that workplace productivity is about prioritizing effectively, communicating clearly, and delivering quality work under time constraints.

Leshly gained meaningful exposure to the medical field during her time at Stanford Health Care. One of her most memorable experiences was visiting hospital facilities during safety rounds with her supervisor. Observing healthcare operations firsthand and receiving real-time explanations about hospital systems deepened her understanding of the field and sparked greater curiosity about medical careers.

This placement also pushed her to grow in her communication skills—an area she once found challenging. Through consistent interaction with her supervisor and healthcare staff, she became more confident asking questions, engaging in professional conversations, and articulating her thoughts clearly. These experiences helped her feel more comfortable navigating adult work environments.

At Heffernan, Leshly took on a project that allowed her to contribute directly to employee well-being. She researched the importance of workplace ergonomics and created an informative slideshow presentation for employees. Through this process, she developed stronger research and presentation skills while learning about the long-term health implications of workplace habits.

Her final presentation was distributed company-wide, ensuring employees were informed about how to maintain healthier work practices. Knowing her work would directly benefit others made this project especially meaningful and reinforced her ability to produce work with real impact.