Kean University students have managed to land internships at Fortune 500 companies such as BMW, Price Waterhouse Cooper, Gorgio Armani, iHeartMedia and many others. With the help of the Office of Internships and Cooperative Education, these students have made their dreams a reality.

According to the office’s mission statement, it serves “to provide unique experiential learning. This is accomplished through internships, global and domestic practical opportunities. We seek to train business students in the art and value of creating an authentic professional profile while teaching 21st century job skills.”

Internships are crucial to a successful college career. Not only do they help one gain professional experience, but also help develop personal management skills such as organization and communication.

With this in mind and partnered with the Kean University College of Business and Public Administration, the Intern Hall of Fame was born! The 2016 edition of The Hall of Fame includes but is not limited to Kean students who major in various fields such as marketing, criminal justice, global business management and business management.

The current roster is as follows:

• Andrea Abizu believes her appeal for overcoming challenges has been the motivation behind her drive to succeed. From the beginning, she made it a point to have an edge over the competition by gathering as much valuable work and extra-curricular experience for her resume as possible. She has interned at Telus in El Salvidor in two different departments, Allstates World Cargo and BlackRock asset management firm.

• Marcus Boler, a recent 2015 graduate who is currently pursuing an MBA in global management, started his internship career at DGL Business Solutions and will be taking an internship at DOW Chemical in Midland, Michigan. He is excited to expand his knowledge and learning abilities to the dynamics of other states.

• Lauren Burrell interned for Wakefern Food Corp throughout the 2014-2015 academic year. Her role as a data integrity intern included bringing in new items, discontinue old items and audit stock in the warehouse. She says that her time with the company was a rich, rewarding and practical experience.

• Karina Chauhan gained many connections and practical skills with her internship at New Jersey Courts. As a criminal justice major, she was able to catch a glimpse of a real world career by stepping out of her comfort zone. This experience also allowed her to become more involved with her courses due to the fact that she was able to contribute real accounts and relate to her professors.

• Gabrielle Cucinotta gained insight to what it’s like to be working within a collaborative marketing team with companies such as iHeartMedia and Vera Wang. Her time with iHeart allowed her to dive right into the business world and actively participate in everything they had to offer as a company.

• Morgan Cummings started her internship career off a bit differently: what started as a class project for Bombas turned into a professional opportunity. Whilst interning, the company appeared on season 6 of Shark Tank. Cummings is now a full-time employee of Bombas with the title of Special Projects Manager.

• Karen Damoah believes that internships help make an individual stand out against other applicants. She has had multiple roles in various internships such as marketing with Enterprise’s Rent-A-Car, public relations for Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and press for Viacom Media Networks: Spike TV. Having these positions not only perfect her resume but also exemplify her passion for the field.

• Armando Guerra has dreamt of working in the fashion industry since he was seven years old. Now those dreams have become a reality due to his internship with Giorgio Armani. He has put the skills he has learned from numerous classes at Kean University to the test and is thankful for all his mentors and advisors who’ve guided and trained him to reach this chapter in life.

• Kaitlyn Heffernan was granted the privilege to travel the world with a tourism company called Florencetown, where she handled all things marketing and booking. With this position, she was able to attend the World Travel Market conference in London, giving her the chance to engage in business-to-business conversations and step outside of her cultural comfort zone.

• Deep Jajal has interned at some huge names such as Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal and Johnson & Johnson. Gaining real world corporate experience boosted his educational journey while gaining a unique perspective on topics in which he can better relate to now. He considers these positions as a strong foundation of skills to succeed beyond graduation.

• Drew Terlizzi has taken on a variety of roles from marketing, to administration, to sales, and currently interns at Complex in New York City. With Complex, he has worked with names such as the NFL and Bud Light beer. Not only does he get to build his professional career, but he gets to be in constant contact with other interns and departments and get exposed to all the ins and outs.

• Steven Vargas was able to collaborate with the Corporate Security Team at Avis to assist in investigations involving crimes against the company in various security related projects.

• Deanna Verringia also pursued ambitions of working within the realm of the fashion industry. Her competitive edge in the job market has been granted to her by Louis Vuitton and Marie Claire.

The Office of Internships and Cooperative Education is located in the Green Lane Academic Building (GLAB) in room 245.

Current internship postings available include BMW, Hertz, Kate Spade, iHeartMedia, Pinnacle, PSEG, CNBC, MINI, L’Oreal, Clavin Klein, The New York Mets, Live Nation, among others.

For more information, email Director of The Office of Internships Joanne Beiter at jbeiter@kean.edu.