Onders and Shipp Excel
by Laura Merrill, Editor-in-Chief of Career Connection
A co-op offers many benefits, as you can see in the accompanying article, “What’s Up with Co-op?” located here. In addition, here are two students whose co-op experiences have prepared them for work after graduation.
Johanna Onders, a marketing major scheduled to graduate this May, has participated in two co-ops—one at NarrowCast Group in the summer of 2006 and the other at City on a Hill Productions during the current semester. Both experiences have been very helpful, sometimes in not-so-obvious ways. Of course, you expect to learn hands-on what working in the given field will be like. But Onders’ co-ops also have helped her in networking efforts, an invaluable asset as graduation approaches.
“Through my co-op experiences, I have come in contact with a number of business professionals who I feel certain would be willing to help me out in the future,” said Onders. “One person I worked with at NarrowCast told me that if I ever needed anything—a reference, recommendation, etc.—to give him a call. Also, my supervisor told me that they would like to have me back at NarrowCast. At City on a Hill, I have had the opportunity to meet business leaders from all over Louisville; I’ve also been invited back to work for the summer.”
Course work in the College of Business helped Onders prepare for her positions, but the co-ops themselves have been “just as important as what I’ve learned in the classroom.” Onders says, “Everything I did had a connection to what we’d talked about in class. It was just a matter of applying what I’d learned.
Johnna Shipp, an accounting major who also will graduate in May, found her co-op through the Ulmer Center accountancy interview sessions in September and October 2006. Shipp interviewed with seven accounting firms: BKD, Chilton & Medley, Cotton & Allen, Crowe Chizek, DMLO, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Four of the firms invited her back for second interviews and three offered her a position! The BKD internship position she chose included the option of full-time placement upon graduation. BKD also provides health, dental, and vision insurance, 401k, life insurance, and flexible spending benefits. Not bad for someone who’s still in school!
