I passed through the metal detectors and pushed through to the badge desk to retrieve the one with my name on it.  “Luke Kieper, Eli Lilly Guest”, read the badge.  Jason Tharp, the man whom I was shadowing, stood on the other side of the lobby, waiting for me.  Of course, this was not the first time I had met him…or even been around him.  He’s a great fellow, with short black hair and a “Get ‘er done!” attitude.  This was a dream immersion for me, as the field I intend to major in is Accounting and Finance.  For most of my life, my family has worked in this type of environment: computers, desks, meetings and so on.  While it may sound boring to many others, this is something that quite excites me.  I was dressed in khaki dress pants, a button-up striped shirt and brown leather boots to match the occasion.  “Hello, Mr. Tharp!  How are you this morning?” I asked in the midst of our handshake.  “I am doing great!  So, first up on the docket today, we have our staff meeting.  Now, mostly, all you have to do is sit there and listen to our presentations.  They’re pretty boring, though,” he said with a smile and a quick laugh.  We arrived at the conference room, and I was introduced to the co-workers of Mr. Tharp.  The meeting seemed to play a critical piece in how the following week would play out.  It was filled with PowerPoint presentations, “spinny” chairs and overseas transfers with British accents.  I was able to learn new information about medicine types, project names and an assortment of other three-lettered acronym’s that most people wouldn’t understand, because some of the letters didn’t even match the actual name.  Fortunately, the meeting ended with a resounding “Goodbye!” from the people on the intercom and those sitting around us at the large wooden table.  Succeeding the resounding meeting was yet another meeting, though much more interesting and engaging.  It was a conversation with one of the heads of Mr. Tharp’s team.  We spoke on college, the workplace and great things to do to prepare me for my future.  Prior to the meeting, I heard many of the people in the staff meeting say something along the lines of, “We wish you well on your retirement!” to the man whom I was speaking to, so I figured I had better listen to what he had to say.  We followed this meeting with many other meetings, including a short with members from a Salesforce team, individual meetings to go over planning sessions and a couple other short conversations with associates of Mr. Tharp.  “Lunch?” said Mr. Tharp.  My stomach answered well before I was able to say yes.

 

            Mr. Tharp has a very caring, helpful, God-loving personality with a will to help just about anybody who needs it.  This had not been prevalent to me until I spent the day with him.  His willingness to help anyone who needed it in the office place and talk with his friends as he passed them in the hallway and ask how their day was going absolutely amazed me.  The typical business stereotype is considered as cold-shouldered, self-centered and un-loving.  However, Mr. Tharp does not exuberate these characteristics at all.  He drew parallels to another business colleague of mine, Mr. John Frank, who also showed personal characteristics of caring and loving.  We sat down in the beautiful Lilly Cafeteria.  It was a large, windowed area with plenty of tables and chairs.  Through the glass, you could see the gorgeous stone walkway over the small stream that ran through the campus that we had passed over earlier that morning.  The cool outdoor temperature made the glass somewhat foggy with all of the people in the room, but the sun that shone through created an intense glow, which was fitting for the conversation that we proceeded to have.  Mr. Tharp and I spoke about the incredible works that God had done in our lives through family, sports and school.  “How is your dad doing?” asked Mr. Tharp.  My father had just recently had open heart surgery over the summer, featuring six bypasses.  He had passed out behind the wheel on the interstate, so our family had had a rough summer of worries and stress.  “He is doing great!  Back to work and just chugging on through rehab.  God is good.  He has helped in so many ways.  He has protected our family and been with us through and through…He is amazing!  How is your family doing?” Mr. Tharp followed up my comment.  “I am very glad that he is doing well.  God does work in mysterious ways, but he is always there to assist us in whatever we need.  My family is doing great!  My son is finishing up his soccer season and his team has done well.  He’s got a playoff game this weekend, so we will see how that goes!”  We spoke on a few other topics such as fantasy football and the Indianapolis Colts, but lunch was short because Mr. Tharp had a couple of other items on our list to complete prior to the end of the day.

 

 

 

"My goal here is to find the right patients and match them with our therapies that are going to be working"

 

 

 

            Following our conversation, he took me to view the miniature museum that Eli Lilly used to display the history of their company, which is displayed in Figure 2, below.  “We were founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly, a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that met real needs in an era of unreliable elixirs peddled by questionable characters. His charge to the generations of employees who have followed was this: ‘Take what you find here and make it better and better’” (Who We Are, 1).  This passage from the “Eli Lilly and Company” website shows the beginnings and history of the company and how their goal is to continue to strive and be the best they can be.  Mr. Tharp periodically talked about medicine developments for diabetes and Lilly’s fight against it.  The small museum inside Eli Lilly commemorated the founders of the company and all they have done to benefit the world.  From insulin, to everyday OTC medications, Eli Lilly has been considered one of the world's leading medical producers, which the museum clearly showed.  A literary piece written on Lilly’s website says,  “But in 1923, everything changed: A ground-breaking collaboration between Lilly scientists and University of Toronto researchers led to the discovery and development of the world’s first commercially available insulin. In the nearly 100 years since, Lilly has continued our commitment to provide ever-better options for those living with diabetes, including treatments, resources and support programs to help along every step of their journey” (Lilly’s, 1).  Diabetes went from a horrible diagnosis to a prognosis that could be combatted with the production of insulin and other diabetes-fighting drugs.  These important pieces in Lilly’s history are part of the reason as to why medicine has been able to advance as far as it has come today.  Not only was Lilly a combatant of Diabetes, but also, their passion laid within fighting an abundance of other diseases, as well.  This idea is very prevalent in the short Documentary, “Our Passion for Patients: An Eli Lilly Documentary”, which illustrates the goal and ideals of Eli Lilly as a company, and their passion for the patients that they serve.  “My goal here is to find the right patients and match them with our therapies that are going to be working” (Documentary).  This comment in the documentary displays the helping attitude and ideals that are tableau at the company of Eli Lilly.  At the end of the eight-hour workday, Mr. Tharp drove me through the treacherous obstacle course known as “rush hour”.  I may have lost a piece of gum in my backpack I carried around, sat through a two-hour staff meeting and gotten an unsolicited history lesson about the antiquities of a well-established company, but the experience was unforgettable and incredibly fascinating.