For the past year, Brandi Floor has been gaining real world experience as an intern at The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. headquarters in Akron. On Wednesday, her efforts were recognized when she was named Best Intern at the Expys Awards Luncheon.
The Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education (NOCHE) and Cleveland Business Connects Magazine annually present the Expys Awards to honor experiential learning.
Best Intern Award recipient Brandi Floor with Dr. Mahesh Srinivasan, an associate professor in the Department of Management. Floor, a student in the College of Business Administration, interned at Goodyear, where she will work full time after spring commencement.
“I was so surprised to hear my name called that I looked to my dad and asked, ‘Did they really just say my name,’” says Floor, the first UA student to win the Best Intern Award. “It was such an exciting and memorable experience. I was honored to be a part of it.”
Floor, who will graduate in May, is a Williams Honors College Scholar who is majoring in international business and minoring in supply chain management.
Among the College of Business Administration faculty on hand for the event was Dr. Mahesh Srinivasan, an associate professor in the Department of Management.
“The award represents Brandi’s work ethic, determination to succeed in any task big or small, and her ability to integrate classroom and on-the-job learning experiences,” says Srinivasan, who is coordinator of the Supply Chain/Operations Management Program. “It is a testimonial to her hard work and leadership abilities.”
Another May graduate, Joseph Murdocco, a supply chain management major who is interning at Air Enterprises, also was one of the 10 finalists for Best Intern. UA was the only school to have two students make the finalists’ list.
Internship leads to job
After graduation, Floor will launch her career at Goodyear. Accepted into the company’s North America Supply Chain Rotational Program, she will rotate through departments in supply chain every six months.
She’s ready for the challenge.
“My classes taught me the foundation of supply chain, business and leadership,” says Floor. “I learned how to work with groups and lead by influence rather than title amongst my peers. The internship taught me how to take my teamwork and leadership skills and apply them to the projects I was given. My internship also taught me about the intricacies of the job and how to adapt to unexpected challenges and change. I feel prepared for the transition into working full time.”
Hundreds of nominations are received for the categories of Best Intern, Best Supervisor, Best College Advisor, Best New Internship, Best Small Company Internship, Best Large Company Internship and Coolest Internship. In February, NOCHE announced the list of finalists for each category.
Career development at UA
- Career Services: Site includes jobs and internship database -- about 30 new opportunities posted daily! The department's professionals can help you prepare for searches and interviews.
- The Experiential Learning Center for Entrepreneurship & Civic Engagement develops and runs programs that help students graduate with experience so they are civically engaged, skilled and adaptable leaders, ready to take on real-world challenges.