Getting down to
Business McLane College of Business brings global experience to campus.
In the midst of all the limitations COVID-19 presented this past year, UMHB business professors have found innovative ways to bring the international business world to campus during a time when students couldn’t see the world.
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Remote International Internships
Since international business students weren’t able to make their annual treks to places like England and Lithuania for the study abroad program, Dr. Michelle Reina arranged to make international internships available for students so they could work remotely with global organizations. “We’ve had students doing international internships for the past few years,” explained Reina, who is a professor and study abroad coordinator for the McLane College of Business. “Since they haven’t been able to travel abroad for the past year, I wanted them to have an opportunity to gain some experience and build their resumes before graduation.” Reina partnered with an agency called Kaya Responsible Travel that provides remote international internships. Students are placed with organizations abroad based on their area of study and interest, Reina said. This semester, Sean Reid interned with Urban Life Edible Gardens & Landscaping in South Africa, which specializes in developing urban farming and landscaping for personal, business, and community use. His focus was helping with marketing, social media, and special projects. Madison Warner interned with VNP Group, the first and leading e-commerce group in Vietnam. Her project was focused on vatgia.com and designing a drop-shipping workflow for their large corporate clients. Abigail Johnson was placed with an organization in Morocco called The Voice of Amazigh Women, a women’s rights advocacy organization that works with women who suffer from discrimination. A typical week for the students consisted of a check-in meeting with the country director, a meeting with their supervisor, a cultural workshop to learn about the country’s culture, and a weekly chat with a person their age who lives in the country. “They seemed to enjoy the experience!” Reina said.
