Contact: Aga Haupt
When state universities and colleges recently dismissed for the summer, many students headed for their hometowns and part-time jobs.
For seniors Kathryn Ann Bowling, Davis Waters and other current international business majors at Mississippi State, an airplane--and, in some cases, a passport--is necessary to reach their places of employment.
Bowling, a German and marketing double major from Ridgeland, will be interning with FedEx in Miami, Fla., while Waters is joining Citigroup's Asia Regional Office in Singapore, Malaysia.
They are enrolled in a six-year-old academic program that enables MSU students to complete their studies with a double degree, one in a foreign language from the College of Arts and Sciences and the other in a College of Business and Industry major. Before they can graduate from the five-year program, however, each must complete a business internship.
"I am looking forward to participating in the real activities of a major Fortune 500 corporation in a rapidly developing, ever-changing region of our world," said Waters, a Spanish and marketing major from Metter, Ga.
Although he will work as part of a team focusing on public relations and crisis management, Waters said the most exciting aspect of his internship will be "learning to live and interact with a culture much different from my own."
Waters' Malaysian experience is his second internship in as many years. Last summer, he spent six weeks in San Jose, Costa Rica, working with a telecommunications provider.
Bowling, whose six-month internship begins in mid-June, will take on a variety of tasks, including web design, field assessments and database management.
"What I expect to gain is a broad understanding of how an international business really functions," she said.
Program director Jon Lox said more than 100 students have interned with 55 different companies in 21 countries since 1996. Chile, Germany and Romania have been among other far-flung posting locales.
Lox said the MSU program constantly has expanded because employers are aggressively seeking students who can successfully apply what they've learned, are adaptable, flexible and not afraid to persevere.
"Our students are known for going the extra mile," he added. "They are ready to roll up their shirt sleeves and get to know the business from the ground floor up. From company responses, they consistently perform above expectations."
"Exciting and challenging" is the way a May graduate from Vicksburg in Spanish and marketing described last summer's internship with Mike's Bike Tours in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
"It was the challenging part that enticed me because I wanted to see if I could do it," said Alan Hicks. "The greatest lesson I learned was how to sell myself, be confident and trust in myself."
Corry Sims, another Vicksburg student, said her experiences in Miami, Fla., taught her "how to deal with priority differences, office politics, time differences, and language barriers." The senior Spanish and marketing major spent last summer and fall in Miami with FedEx's Latin America/Caribbean finance department.
"While I also learned the importance of working smarter and not harder by innovating and improving processes, perhaps my greatest lesson was how to perform under intense pressure and deadlines," she said.
Lox said the students themselves are the international business program's greatest strength.
"They reflect not only excellence in academics but experience international immersion and business realities in preparation for a successful career in the global marketplace," he said.
Lox also pointed to another indication of the program's success: Most graduates go to work for the companies with which they interned.