Students, faculty, and staff from Appalachian State University were in Davidson, North Carolina, on April 4, visiting with professionals at MSC Industrial, a major distributor of Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) products and services.
With more than 7,000 associates, the publicly traded Fortune 1000 company has $4 billion in annual sales — and is a notable employer for Walker College of Business graduates.
Coordinating the trip were staff in App State's Business Career Services who know experiential opportunities are key to learning firsthand from industry professionals and seeing how classroom material can be applied in the business world.
"Experiential learning opportunities like this are invaluable for our students. They get to see firsthand how the concepts they learn in the classroom are applied in real-world business settings," said Jackie Garner, Associate Director for Employer Relations. Director Amy Odom and Career Coach Abby Brannen also participated.
Students from the Managing Distribution Channels class participated, hearing from key leadership about vendors, suppliers, core customers, and overall marketing strategies. Marketing Department Chair Dr. Jim Stoddard and Supply Chain Management Program Director Dr. Dinesh Dave taught and accompanied the App State students for this event.
MSC Chief People Officer Beth Bledsoe, a member of the college's Management Advisory Board, was instrumental in helping plan the students' visit. She coordinated comments from MRO General Manager Tom Birchard, Performance Marketing Director Matthew Chantry, Metalworking General Manager Sara Dulski, Content Strategy Manager Emily Griffin, Strategy Sr. Category Manager Kyle O'Bryan, and Customer Lifecycle Marketing Senior Manager Regina Phipps.
Co-curricular career-oriented programming is one way the Walker College is readying its graduates for the workforce.
"Our marketing majors are taking advantage of practical job preparation, career coaching, and networking opportunities," said Stoddard. "We aim to help our students be successful in their careers and connect with business leaders.”
Pictured, in alphabetical order, are student participants Macy Bell, Emily Clark, Julia Connor, Stella Davila, Jacqueline De. Camp, Annabell Gmyrek, Rilley Gokey, Kaylah Jackson, Riley Klebe, Orlando Leon, Dominique Lynd, Laura Neal, Anslie Ollis, Erik Olsen, Alexandra Parker, Maddie Parks, Liya Porter, Hallie Jo Shelton, JP Sterling, James Trowell, and Nicholas Wilson with Dr. Jim Stoddard (left), Dinesh Dave (right), Abby Brannen (second from left), Amy Odom (second from right) and Jackie Garner, (third from right, behind Odom).
About Business Career Services
Business Career Services in the Truist Student Leadership Center provides opportunities for business students to build career skills through professional and leadership development training. The center offers career services with personalized coaching and support to business students preparing for a career beyond Appalachian. Learn more at businesscareers.appstate.edu.
App State students at MSC Industrial in Davidson, NC
Photo submitted