CU Students Prepare for Their Future Career Through Taking an Internship

Through using the skills learned in their classes at Cornerstone University, two students are applying their knowledge in enriching internship experiences this summer. Paige Bauer and Mikayla Henke are gaining real work experience in the business world.

Paige Bauer

Paige Bauer (B.S. ’19), a business marketing major with a minor in graphic design, is currently serving as an intern at Grand Occasions in Grand Rapids, Mich. Co-owned by Cornerstone alumna Monica Lawrence (B.S. ’14), Grand Occasions is a wedding planning company that specializes in silk floral design, vendor selection, day-of coordination and everything else that goes into orchestrating a wedding.

Paige is responsible for ensuring every detail throughout a client’s wedding is executed with precision including floral design, setting tables, attending vendor meetings and venue set up.

Along with that, Paige also helps to monitor Grand Occasions’ social media accounts. She plans scheduled posts; promotes photos of the weddings the company has previously handled; and credits vendors, photographers and venues for their services.

“Classes at Cornerstone including Principles of Management provided me a solid foundation to begin this internship,” Paige explained. “My graphic design courses [also] supplied me with the skills to execute requests that [the company] hadn’t been able to do like designing icons for their website, because they previously did not have anyone on their team with that ability. It gave me a foundation to further build on the hands-on experience I am gaining from the internship.”

While being able to personally work with the owners of the company, Paige has had the opportunity to learn the aspects it takes to run a business.

“Throughout this internship, I have learned the skills for running social media, advertising, designing, managing financials and working with clients,” Paige concluded. “I have gotten a glimpse into every moving part that needs to be accounted for in a company.”

Mikayla Henke

Mikayla Henke (B.S. ’18), a business management and business marketing major, is serving as the community management intern at Walgreens in Zion, Ill. Walgreens is a chain of health and wellness stores that fills prescriptions and offers beauty products and consumer goods. Mikayla’s internship, sponsored by Walgreens Corporate in Deerfield, Ill., gives students the opportunity to experience managerial responsibilities throughout Walgreens stores around the United States.

While serving as an intern, Mikayla’s primary responsibility is to empower team members around her and to provide extraordinary care and service to Walgreens’ customers and patients. More specifically, she assists in managing inventory systems, receiving vendors, protecting assets and completing store revisions. She is also involved in a larger research project with other interns in the Chicago area to help evaluate the best way to provide quality pharmaceutical experiences for Walgreens patients.

“My role at Walgreens coincides with what I have been learning in the classroom,” Mikayla said. “My classes at Cornerstone have refined my ability to gather data and think critically.

“This past spring, I was sitting in a classroom with Professor Rachel Hammond, simulating management of my own business with a few peers. Today, I sit in the manager’s office at Walgreens and review similar statistics and make decisions with my store manager that better our customers.”

As she reflected on her internship, Mikayla remarked on how serving at Walgreens has set a foundation for her future career.

“I have gained a broader understanding of a business operation in which the main objective is to ensure customers have a delightful experience getting the goods and services they need,” Mikayla said. “I have been impressed with how my team members continually choose to invest in me. They have mentored me and provided me with additional knowledge about the operations of store management that have equipped me to lead a team.”

Conclusion

Whether strategically planning intricate details of a wedding or assisting in managing the specifics of a store, Cornerstone students are better prepared for their future careers through participation in an internship. 100% of students complete an internship or practicum at CU. Because of this, students are further prepared for their careers after college.