Studying International Business at Saint Joseph’s University has given me a holistic approach to business, enabling me to gain cross-functional experience in other business disciplines, and rewarded me with great employment opportunities. Due to overlapping curriculums between the language departments and the IB department, I was able to easily minor in Spanish alongside my major. This parlayed into my studying abroad at Saint Louis University’s Madrid campus in Spain during my junior year. While there, I gained a better understanding of foreign cultures and business environments, while also getting to have some fun in Europe.
My coursework and experience in the IB program qualified me for my internship last summer in Mexico. I worked for Johnson Matthey in Querétaro, a medium sized city in Central Mexico. As the only non-Mexican in the office, I was immersed in the Spanish language and given the great opportunity of assisting in the sales department, while conducting a market research project for a separate division of the company considering entering the Mexican market.
Through both personal networking and the Career Development Center here at SJU, I interviewed with multiple top-tier companies for full time jobs after graduation. I accepted a position in the TRAC leadership development program at Marsh, a subsidiary of Marsh and McLennan, in New York City. I will be conducting risk analysis in the energy industry where I will work in both client facing and market facing positions for the first two years. Given the specialized nature of my industry, I am excited about the potential for international travel to service various global clients.
I am confident my experience in the IB program was crucial to my landing the job. All of the companies with which I interviewed were interested in the cross-disciplinary nature of the IB program, and were attracted to my Spanish language skills. It is a great program to be a part of, and I credit much of my success to the opportunities it provided to me.