Intern-to-Associate Journey with Maria Sabbagh

Please introduce yourself. What is your current role at Toyota? How long have you been with the company? 

Ali: Hi, my name is Ali, and I’m a current intern with the Testing Team. And this is my sister Maria, who actually went through the same program. [She] was an intern here. Maybe you can tell them more about your role? 

Maria: Yeah, sure. My name is Maria Sabbagh; I have been at Toyota for two-and-a-half years around now. And my current role is Mechanical Design Engineer in New Product Development.  

Ali: Tell us about your Toyota internship experience. What year did you intern, and what was your role?

Maria: I interned twice. I interned when I was a rising junior and a rising senior. In both cases, I interned for the same team, Truck Systems and New Product Development. And, I mean, I’m here back full-time, it was a great experience, otherwise, I wouldn’t be back. My roles then, as an intern, were similar and different to what I currently do now. Back then I was a Mechanical Design Engineer intern. Now, I am a Mechanical Design Engineer as a full-timer. They’re similar because they are both design engineering roles. However, my responsibilities (of course) have grown as I’ve progressed through the summer all the way to full-time. And the type of projects I work on. 

Ali: Looking back on your internship, what were some of the most valuable lessons or experiences you gained? 

Maria: There were many lessons, I can tell you that. The way that my team and everybody was very open to just being willing to help me at any point if I had any questions. Me, never feeling shy about asking any questions, whether it be big, small regardless of how stupid it may feel at the moment. It’s better to know than to not know, even if it’s simple.  

Being able to communicate with all the team members at any point. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a co-worker, or even the VP of Engineering and C-Suite folks. Everybody throughout the company had made, had dedicated, time for the interns and the internship experience as a whole. And I think that is definitely significantly different than other companies. And I think it is a very valuable experience for interns to get that exposure. Otherwise, how else will you be able to learn about the company and how it truly operates if you aren’t able to hear it from the top of the organizational leadership all the way to your co-workers on an individual basis?  

Ali: During your internship, what relationships or professional connections did you build, and how have those connections supported your career journey? 

Maria: As I mentioned in the prior question, we had the opportunity to be exposed to everybody in the organization, in the organization, really. So, being able to get exposure to them, actually talk to them one-on-one, face-to-face, and them being willing to spare the time to talk to us, I think that’s very valuable and a huge, I think, confidence booster. It also teaches people who aren’t used to approaching different levels, how to interact, how to adapt, and how to present yourself, and communicate. I think that is a significant highlight, and worth my time to just explore and get exposed to.  

Ali: What inspired you to return to Toyota after your internship experience?

Maria: A combination of several aspects. I think the intern program, with it being not too large, not too small, I feel that’s kind of my preferred group size, and actually able to connect with all the other interns. Make connections from those, as well as interacting with your team.  

The types of projects I was working on, I remember the project I had worked on both summers had actually continued past and dipped into my full-time role for a period of time. I know one of my co-workers is actually still continuing to work on my project, so it’s nice to see that the work I did wasn’t just work. It made a difference for the company, so seeing that follow through all the way, that’s really enjoyable for me. It’s nice to see that my work isn’t, my work is truly valued.  

Toyota, although now Toyota Material and Handling North America, in general, the scope of how large the project and progression of what you have to do is fairly large on the systems level. So, my project allowed me to, as an engineer, go through all the stages of ideation to testing and validation within a short period of time of three months. Which, it’s not an easy task to develop a project that can be done within such a short period of time, but being able to accomplish that, and being provided that opportunity, I think, is what caught my attention to come back really.  

Ali: What advice would you share with current or prospective Toyota interns who are looking to make the most of their experience?  

Maria: I would say the biggest thing is: two things. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, and it’s okay to wander around and just introduce yourself to people. People are always willing and more than happy to introduce themselves and tell them, talk about their experience, and how they’ve grown into their careers. You just, you learn so much more by talking to people, and people, you shouldn’t be scared of them. Everyone is friendly. There’s just so much to learn just by talking to others.   

Ali: Well, thank you so much for your time. I think I learned a lot from your answers, really appreciate it.  

Maria: Yeah, absolutely  

Ali: Thank you. 

Maria: Thank you.   

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