At DMC, every new employee is celebrated with a welcome party. New DMCers pick a fun event or activity to do to spend time with and get to know their team outside of the office.
This month, we were excited to welcome Wenjing Deng and Ray King to DMC. They decided to combine their welcome parties and try a DMC favorite, axe throwing!
The party started in the Chicago office, where everyone got aquainted over Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish.
“I only had deep dish once, and it was not really good," Wenjing said. "Lou Malnati’s was way better! I had it the day after too."
Following dinner, the group carpooled to Bad Axe.
Axe Throwing
This was Wenjing and Ray's first time axe throwing. After a brief tutorial and demonstration, the axe (and knife!) throwing began.
“We took turns trying things out," Wenjing said. "First, a two-handed axe and then a one handed axe...the one handed was super sweet!”
Next, the crew at Bad Axe brought out throwing knives.
"I was talking to Aleks about this game we both play called Valorant," Wenjing said. "The main character throws knives, and it was cool to feel like her.”
Both Wenjing and Ray agreed that activities like these are a great way to learn more about people.
“I prefer doing an activity to get to know people — that way, you can discuss the things you’re doing and really get to know what everyone is like." Wenjing said.
Ray agreed and says activities help “break the ice easily.”
After playing individually for a while, the group split into teams for a friendly competition. The first team to hit 100 points would be the winner. Team names included Roll Tide, Run DMC, Team Patrick, and Team Canada. Being in teams allowed for further collaboration and getting to know one another.
"We got to talk to people more easily while waiting for our turns," Ray said.
Getting Started at DMC
With their first DMC tradition out of the way, the two new engineers reflected on their start at DMC.
”On day one, Ray and I would causally talk about how everything was ready for us. We showed up and someone was there to greet us," Wenjing said. "We were being taken care of [and] the laptops showed up on time. Everything went very smoothly. People were happy to stop and say hi, so that was really cool.”
Training in Chicago went well for both engineers as Ray agrees.
“A lot of little things I didn’t expect to be taken care of, were," Ray said.
These trainings were not solely with members of Wenjing and Ray's teams, so they both got to know people from different departments within DMC.
“Another thing I appreciated about the first two weeks was that DMC teammates did the trainings," Wenjing said. "They were not always my teammates so I got to meet different people from around the company."
Both Wenjing and Ray agree that the DMC experience is unlike others.
“I’ve worked at a couple companies, and this experience has truly blown me away," Ray said. "Everyone is extremely professional but casual and easy to walk up to and talk to. The trainings are great. I always have something to do during the day."
During their short time at DMC, both Wenjing and Ray already feel they are fitting in.
"When you join a job, sometimes it takes the first few weeks before you started doing anything. If they haven’t found anything for you to do, you start to wonder 'where do I fit in'? That has not been the case at DMC. I’m already getting rolled out into different projects. It’s great.”
Learn more about DMC’s company culture and explore our open positions.