Graduates Help Companies Go Global
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Trade Specialist Mentors Students with Real-world Results for Area Businesses
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Adam Wendell, Class of 2003 Worked with India-based health care organization
Recent Raj Soin College of Business international
business graduates spent their
senior internships helping a variety of companies with their
international trade strategies. The College’s unique approach to its
international business curriculum includes a capstone course on trade
management, international culture and language training to prepare
students for the global economy.
Click below to learn how students helped companies with their international business strategies.
Singapore Internship Leads to Job for 2004 Graduate
Urbana-based Freedom Feeds Taps the International Market
Trade Specialist Mentors Students with Real-world Results for Area
Businesses
2003 Graduate Works at India Healthcare Company
European Union Exchange Assists Miami Valley International Trade
Association
To learn more about internships for your company, contact Monica Snow,
Director International Programs, Raj Soin College of Business 937-775-2151
monica.snow@wright.edu
Singapore
Internship Leads to Job for 2004 Graduate
Rachelle Sedenik, a Raj Soin College of Business
International Business major Class of 2004, ad the time of her life!
She completed an internship in Singapore with the U.S. Department of
Commerce’s Commercial Service Department.
While in Singapore, she assisted with Asian Aerospace, the second
largest aerospace tradeshow in the world. She also worked with a trade
mission of twelve U.S. businesses in Singapore to meet with various
Asian aerospace companies and second a trade mission of six U.S. ICT
companies interested in doing business in Asia.
One of her major projec
ts
involved assisting a U.S. Department of Commerce program to bring trade
specialists from all over Asia to counsel American companies on the
aerospace industry in their respective countries.
Rachelle found her experiences in Singapore to be
both interesting and enlightening, and enjoyed learning about the
cultural differences between the U.S. and Asia. Her activities have even
led to a job offer and acceptance with as an international contracts
manager with an Austin, Texas high-tech firm.
Rachelle Sedenick with the Honorable
Frank L. Lavin, U.S. Ambassador to Singapore
Urbana-based Freedom Feeds Taps the International Market
By John Heywood Class of 2004
John Heywood, International Business major helped Freedom Feeds, the
world’s only supplier of grain-based fish food, export its products to
the international aqua-culture market.
I've realized there are two ways
of learning a subject. The first is academic-based. We go to school and
sit through presentations, listen to lectures, watch videos, and read
books. This is where we learn about theory. The second method is
experience-based. We do research projects, simulate business challenges
facing companies
and their products, and eventually we move into the work world through internships or
co-ops. It is through our experiences that we learn how theory is molded
to fit into the real world. After spending time at two schools previous
to Wright State University (WSU), it is my opinion that WSU offers the
best of both methods. The curriculum is not only informative and
challenging, but I believe my mandatory internship has been the most
valuable part of my academic career.
During the spring quarter of 2004, I spent my 150-hour internship in
Urbana, OH with a small company named Freedom Feeds Inc. Freedom Feeds
creates and sells the world’s first and only grain-based fish diets.
Freedom Feeds is a perfect place for a student to learn through
experience. Being with a small company, I did not feel like I disappeared in
the crowd. It was also easier to see my impact on the company. I had
direct contact with the President, Eric Shiffer, and the chief
nutritionist, Steve Massie, on a daily basis and received feedback
constantly. Like me, Freedom Feeds was new to the world of International
Business. This is another reason my internship went well – we had a
chance to learn together.
Freedom Feeds was in a primarily reactive position. Like many companies,
they would wait for an order to come in and then figure out how to get
the product out. This takes time. My job was to help Freedom Feeds
become proactive. My duties consisted of researching export
documentation, researching market access issues, working with freight
forwarders on quotes, and working with our European marketer. The bulk
of my time was spent on the first duty. Every country is different, and
every country uses paperwork as a barrier to entry. With proper
research, it is possible to complete documentation as smooth as
possible. My first test was shipping feed to Canada. The NAFTA helped
keep the paperwork to a minimum and our shipment made it hassle-free.
I also spent a great deal of time researching market access issues. When
we received an order, I had to determine if there was anything that
would keep us from shipping our product to another country.
Unfortunately, the answer was yes. Freedom Feeds’ diet is grain-based. A
main ingredient is soy meal from soybeans, and our soybeans (like most
soybeans in the world) are genetically modified organisms (GMOs). We had
a request from a university in Norway for some of our feed, but we could
not send it due to the fact Norway has an outright ban on GMOs and
products containing GMOs. Fortunately, we found an alternate method of
getting the feed to the customer. The university has a branch in the
Netherlands. The Netherlands are a member of the European Union, and
though the European Union does not look favorably upon GMOs either,
there are exceptions. If a GMO has been tested by the European Union and
it has been found safe, it may enter the Union. Our soybean has in fact
been tested and was allowed into the European Union. There are, however,
two stipulations: the packaging must be labeled stating that a GMO is
present, and we must keep a traceability record for five years after
each sale. The European Union wants to know from whom we are buying our GMO
products and where the GMO products are going. These are issues
that may have caused problems during shipping for Freedom Feeds had they
not been researched. I am happy to report that our shipment made it to
the University hassle-free as well.
After countless hours in the classroom studying business theories and
practical skills, I finally had the opportunity to apply those skills in
the business world. I spent a great deal of time researching documentary
requirements and market restrictions for our product. I also had an
opportunity to talk with freight forwarders who were more than happy to
discuss with me how their companies help in the international arena. I
assisted on international sales and international shipments, and gained
some marketing experience, first hand. I have to admit I was nervous
going into my internship because I was not sure how prepared I was.
Fortunately, WSU has given me more than enough book knowledge to make
this internship a satisfying experience, and all I had to do was make
the knowledge work.
Trade Specialist Mentors Students with Real-world Results for Area
Businesses
A three-month internship with Senior Trade Specialist Debbie Dirr of the
U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Service Dayton office was an
ideal opportunity for Manuel Torrealba, an international business major
Class of 2004, to see the theories he’d studied put to work. Torrealba,
a native of Venezuela who speaks three languages, accompanied Dirr on
consultations with mom and pop ventures as well as large corporations in
the Miami Valley on how they could expand their businesses into
international markets.
“The Commercial Service is equipped to help local business do background
checks on foreign businesse
s and investigate their history of payment,
determine what kinds of documents are needed in a particular market, and
find qualified distributors, agents or joint venture partners,” said Dirr, who has worked with international interns from Wright State for
five years. “And we can go so far as to schedule appointments with
qualified candidates, arrange transportation and interpretation, and
help with hotel accommodations for their visit to a country.”
During his internship, Torrealba learned how to locate secondary market
research reports for local companies, study trade trends in foreign
markets, and compile U.S. import-export information, census data and
other statisitcs. “This kind of customized information is not something
you can get with a web search engine or out of a book,” he said.
“Working with Debbie gave me the opportunity to see how what I had
learned in school about globalization can be used to make a difference
in the region.”
“It was a great opportunity for Manuel to hear and see first-hand what
these companies are experiencing from the U.S. side. This real-world
experience brings his textbook learning to life,” said Dirr.
Debbie Dirr, Manuel Torrealba
Adam Wendell, Class of 2003 Worked with India-based Healthcare
Organization
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After working with the U.S. Department of Labor, Adam took a position
with Vision/Perot on the west coast of India.
He had time to take a breather during a vacation to Goa on the east
coast where he enjoyed the beautiful colonial architecture.
Tapping the European Union Network
Marcel Hein, a student from the University of Applied Sciences-Jena in
Germany spent the fall quarter at Wright State through a unique program
named RENEUUS -- Regional Educational Network between the European
Union and the
United
States. The program offers travel and living expenses for three students
annually from three American universities including Wright State,
Memphis State and Ball State and three European universities in Salmanca,
Spain; Umeo, Sweden and Jena, Germany.
Through RENEUUS, universities with similar characteristics are
paired to train students in management and public administration through
classroom projects and internships. Hein used his business skills at an
internship with the Miami Valley International Trade Association. He was
able to prepare handouts on German distributors and sales agents to help
Association members. Hein also was helpful in the planning and
implementation of a “Doing Business With Germany” seminar. Kathy
Marshalek, executive director of the Association, praised the
contributions of Hein. “He had firsthand knowledge about business in
Germany and was able to identify some of the factors companies here need
to be aware of in dealing with business representatives from Germany. He
was really an asset for us because of his personal perspectives,” she
said.
During summer term, Paula Hiller, another Jena, Germany exchange
student, is completing an internship with the marketing department of
Relizon.