Alumni Highlight: Kelli Swan
"I learned about the internship with the U.S. Foreign and Commercial Service (USFCS) from taking the required business class from Dr. Boam. He emphasized how much the USFCS does to help businesses with international trade and encouraged us to use their website and Sandy office in doing our final project.
My everyday role during the internship at the Sandy office was made up of several activities. I participated in conferences, seminars, and meetings with businesses, government, and nonprofit organizations who are involved in the international community in Utah. I maintained the US Export Assistance Center Website. I did market research for companies to help them determine which markets would be best for them to begin exporting to, what rules and regulations their products would be subject to in foreign countries, and how to classify their products in order to export them correctly. I contacted US Commercial Service officers in different countries in order to set up meetings and partner searches for companies here in Utah.
One of my favorite things has been meeting with companies and finding out what they do and how many different types of companies and organizations are involved in international business. Another thing I have really enjoyed is becoming acquainted with so many people who know international business so well and are so passionate about promoting it.
There was a great deal of overlap between the MIAGE program and this internship. The classes I took helped me better understand the challenges that might face businesses, nonprofits, and governments as they all work in an increasingly global world. During the internship, I saw how many of these groups dealt with these challenges in the real world as they came up in their everyday work environment. It was refreshing to see the application with real companies and governments of many of the things we talked about in MIAGE classes."