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Michelle Ellis ’07 (Somerset, N.J.) has been accepted as a Fellow in the Leadership Development Program of Olympus Corp., Lehigh Valley.
Designed for new college graduates, the Olympus Fellows Program exposes participants to a variety of hands-on projects throughout the company. Participants also take part in training sessions and workshops designed to provide a broader knowledge of the company and its products.
Ellis, a double major in economics & business and government & law, will begin the two-year program in the company’s Life Science business segment in mid-June. The division produces healthcare products such as microscopes, laparoscopes, and numerous other surgical imaging systems. She will rotate through several areas at the company, including sales, marketing, product management, and service, as she learns the Olympus business. At the conclusion of the program, she will be placed in a full-time position within Olympus.
“I definitely plan on continuing with Olympus following completion of the Fellows Program,” Ellis says. She aspires to become a leader within a healthcare company. “This Fellows Program along with the personnel and integrity of Olympus will help me achieve that goal. I have a great feeling about this company and the contributions that I can make. It’s a place where I can learn and develop immensely while also having my contributions valued and recognized.”
Ellis first heard about the position through the on-campus-interview process through Career Services. “The interview process was rigorous and was mostly based on situational questions. I drew on experiences as a student-athlete at Lafayette, especially being co-captain of the softball team this past season and I also drew on leadership experiences through group projects that I have worked on while at Lafayette,” she says.
For the past several years, Ellis has interned at a Johnson and Johnson company in various roles and is pleased to be able to continue working in the healthcare products industry. She says that her coursework in the economics and business department will be an asset as she enters the working world.
“I feel that economics as a whole taught me to think and work in a way that’s compatible to any business-concentration,” she says. “I have really learned the foundation for business and economies; I can build upon that knowledge.”
While at Lafayette, Ellis has been a valuable member of the softball team and was co-captain during the 2007 season. The team tied the most wins in Lafayette Softball history with 21 and made its second straight appearance in the Patriot League Championship.
During the fall 2005 semester, Ellis studied abroad in Sydney, Australia, where she interned in sports marketing with Sydney Uni Sport and provided marketing support to the women’s professional basketball league in Sydney.