Hello! My name is Brian Thornber, I’m currently a Junior at Johnson & Wales University in downtown Providence Rhode Island. I have an Associates degree in Computerized Drafting, and am currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Design & Configuration Management, with hopes of further pursing a Masters degree from MIT in the near future.

Global Product Acquisition. All my friends always ask me what that means, and what it is I do at Hasbro. When I was applying, I had a vague idea of what I was getting myself into. Looking at new products to acquire? Seems simple enough. Little did I know the exciting rollercoaster of events I would get into during my time here on the Global Product Acquisition Team.

During my first week on the team, I was getting myself acquainted with everyone, and everything I would be doing for the next few months. On around day 4 one of my managers came up to me and said “Hey, we’re having someone visit, do you want to tag along?”. I of course said sure, I’m always up for new experiences and meeting new people. After having an intense Nerf battle with the visitor and his friends, I realized just how great my internship would be.

A typical day with the Global Product Acquisition team consists of reviewing out-of-company inventor’s concepts, logging incoming prototypes, and talking to the leadership on various brand teams such as Nerf, Transformers, and the Games Team to see what they’re looking for in terms of innovation. One of my favorite parts to my Internship is being on the cusp on innovation in the toy and game world; and getting to see and play with new conceptual toys firsthand.

In the past, I’ve done internships working with defense contractors, but quickly realized it was too serious of an environment for me, and there was no excitement or joy to be seen. After working at Hasbro for the past seven months, I think this is where I want to be for my post-college career. Through this internship experience, I’ve been able to network and get involved in the Toy and Games industry and learn key details about how to make the worlds best play experiences. I’ve been able to attend industry events, such as the New York Toy Fair this past February, and have been able to meet some amazing people both outside, and inside the company.

To anyone considering applying to be a co-op in Hasbro, I heavily encourage you to apply, apply, apply. I applied to this position having a basic understanding of what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised at how much I was able to participate in special events, network internally and externally, and the sheer amount of information I was able to learn about the Toy and Games industry.

I’m looking forward to a bright future at Hasbro and can’t wait for my next adventure!

Brian Thornber- Co-Op for the Global Product Acquisition Team

Johnson & Wales University