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What Woman Want: Mission Paraguay

July 27, 2009 in Career by MBA Association | No comments

Summer Series – Kimberly Clark, Paraguay

For the last 2 months I’ve been immersed in the jungles of Paraguay (both urban and rural) trying to unveil and understand the mystery that is woman.  I am on a quest to understand how women decide among products that are so intimate, so personal, and vital for her confidence self esteem and even health – and why isn’t this process even more complex? This is my job as an MBA Intern in Kimberly-Clark Paraguay, responsible for the general management of the FEM category products.

Now you would think this would be a hard task for a GUY that was raised in copper mines and who sold mining trucks for three years… but it hasn’t, thanks to the transportability of the concepts learned in the program and how they empower us with a great set of tools to leverage. Though during our first year at times I came to question the practicality in the approach of some of the courses, I’ve quickly become to realize how necessary this MACRO view really is, especially when connecting dots and presenting to upper management. I’ve also realize how everything makes sense and how easy it has been to integrate all functional areas, once we start applying what we’ve learned. On August 21st, I’m representing our branch (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) in the annual Interns’ Speech Series presided by Tom Falk (KC’s CEO), on which I present the results of our project and its impact on sales. This generally determines who gets an offer and a special bonus as best speaker, so I’ll do my best to represent the “Smealers” and its marketers.

I’m deeply thankful for this experience and for what I have learned during our first year. I can’t wait to go back and continue to grow. I hope to see you all in a couple of weeks in what I’m sure will be a great Second Year… Hasta la vista!

 

Phillip Jarpa
President, Marketing Association

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Smeal Philanthropy Aids Local NPR Affiliate

October 31, 2008 in Philanthropy by MBA Association

On October 24 and 26, 2008, Smeal MBA students volunteered their time to assist public radio station WPSU with its fall fund drive. WPSU is a listener-supported NPR station serving central and northwestern Pennsylvania. Between answering calls from new and renewing members of the station’s listenership, students listened to public radio, snacked, and chatted.

“The afternoon at WPSU gave us the chance to mingle with fellow students in a non-academic setting while giving back to the community,” says Chris LoRusso, class of 2010.

“I look forward to volunteering again in the future.”

“I was impressed with the support from within the Smeal community,”

says Andrew Helicher, class of 2010.

A member of our Career Services team phoned in a generous donation during our shift! Smeal’s relationship with WPSU is ongoing, and there will be plenty of opportunities for current and future classes to participate in membership drives and other philanthropic initiatives at the station.

Mary Gorman

Smeal MBA Class of 2009

mary@psu.edu

Mary Gorman is a second year MBA candidate studying Corporate Financial Analysis and Planning and Supply Chain Management. She has experience in startups in biotechnology and fashion industry

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Spring Career Fair

March 7, 2008 in Career by Supply Chain Association

The Center for Supply Chain Research (CSCR) sponsored the annual Spring Career Fair held on Feb 5th and 6th. More than 70 companies participated in the event, which was open to both graduate and undergraduate students. Due to the overwhelming response of participant companies, this was the first time that the Career Fair was held for two days. Recruiters from the top Supply-Chain companies in retail, pharmaceuticals, energy, healthcare, technology, logistics, aerospace and virtually every other sector held on-campus interviews. Some of the shortlisted candidates were invited by the companies to either interview at Penn State the following day or to visit their facilities for on-site interviews. Many Penn State alumni were also present as representatives of the visiting companies and shared their industry experiences with the current students. The Supply Chain Career Fair was a tremendous success in offering new career opportunities for supply chain practitioners and has continued to grow over the years.

Rohit Gurtu

MBA Class of 2009

Prior to Smeal, Rohit has worked for more than 15 years in the automotive industry. He has undertaken various roles in manufacturing, purchasing, and procurement with Maruti Suzuki, Honda Siel Cars, Delphi Automotive Systems, and Saud Bahwan Automotive, LLC.

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Supply Chain Coffee House

March 7, 2008 in Career, Uncategorized by Supply Chain Association

“Let me guess, you didn’t tell them about your 15 minutes of fame with the P-Funk,” my wife asked me after I told her the good news. She was referring to an old Andy Warhol comment and my former employment as a musician in LA; I was telling her about the Career Fair we had on campus. Over 50 Supply Chain companies had come to the Business Building recruiting for internships, co-ops and full time jobs. Because of the large number of companies who attend, success comes from knowing what you want and which companies are offering it. I was looking for an internship. I had already scheduled an interview with Dell later in the week, but I wanted one for a different department there as well. I also wanted to talk with ExxonMobil – my Dad worked for them his whole career and so I knew what a great company they are. I went to the Coffee House we had Monday night before the 2-day career fair where several companies each gave a short presentation and then met with students. We rotated through companies every 30 minutes. I met with the ExxonMobil recruiters and I was able to schedule an interview. Two days later at the Career Fair in the atrium, I met with the recruiters for Dell and I was able to schedule the second interview I wanted so much. Recruiters look for so many different things from students that it’s hard to know what they want. The best approach is to talk with other students who have interned or worked there to find out what the company is like. You can also find a lot of information on the web about the operations, locations and cultures of all of the different companies. Alumni are always willing to help also – so don’t be afraid to cold call them and ask questions. Career Services gets you ready for these events so you can hand your resume to potential employers with confidence knowing that they will like what they see.

I spoke with the ExxonMobil recruiters at the Coffee House just after they told the group they would collect resumes, review them that night and then call the people they would like to interview. However, I had done enough research on the company that I knew what to say and how to write my resume so that they would want to interview me. I got to sign up for a slot right then. Dell was no different; I knew exactly how to approach them. What took me by surprise, though, was where the conversation went – I don’t know how, but we got onto the topic of my musician days in LA and the recruiter not only ended up knowing who the Parliament Funkadelic was, but he was also impressed that I had once done a gig with their drummer. Yes, my experiences before coming to Smeal range all over – but I never thought (and neither did my wife) that I would be using that one to sell myself to a company.

I don’t think it matters who you are or what your background is – Penn State has such a diverse group of students and a broad range of companies who recruit here that you will be able to make the most of what is offered and companies will show up looking for you. My wife has teased me for our entire marriage about how nobody knows who the P-Funk is and how playing a gig with their former drummer won’t ever be of benefit to my new career – now when she pokes fun at it, I remind her that it was instrumental (no pun intended) in landing a great internship.

-Sammie Markham

MBA Class of 2009

Sammie Markham is a 1st year Supply Chain student in the Smeal MBA Program. He has a background in facilities management and funk music.

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