Equipped to Lead and Succeed

What I’m Doing This Summer: Viraj Kavle ’25

Part of a series on USF students

by Evan Elliot, USF News

He talks about marketing, business analytics, the value of ideas, and the importance of networking.

What are you up to this summer?

I’m an intern at Clorox headquarters in Oakland. I work in sales and customer analytics. My project for this summer is to analyze sales data on Fresh Step, Ever Clean, and Scoop Away cat litter and then give a presentation on how to increase market share in major retailers like PetSmart, Petco, Target, Walmart.

What’s your major?

Business analytics and marketing. Double major.

Has your USF education helped you with your work this summer?

Absolutely. Sophomore year I took Fundamentals of Business Analytics. That was the class that helped me make Excel sheets and pivot tables, which is something that I’m doing right now. Marketing Research and Marketing Principles, those are two classes that help me in the sales part of the internship. Professor Jonathan Barsky, who taught the Marketing Research class, said something that I think about a lot: “Skills pay the bills but ideas make you rich.”

What’s your favorite thing about this internship?

Meeting a lot of people at Clorox and having coffee chats with them, asking them questions about their work, learning the different jobs they do.

What’s your career advice to other USF students?

Join a lot of clubs and meet a lot of people so that you get work experience that you need for applying for internships. Just start somewhere. I joined the marketing club. I worked for USF TV. I joined CAB [Campus Activities Board]. I met a lot of people and through those people I got a lot of new opportunities.