Doing is Learning

Recently, while explaining that his summer internship would require long hours in the Florida sun, someone asked Terry Gasper ’24 if he was prepared for the humid temperatures.

“I grew up in Ghana (Africa),” he said. “I think I’ll be just fine.”

According to weatherspark.com, Ghana has a tropical climate due to its proximity to the equator and low elevations. Daytime temperatures are as high as 86 degrees throughout the year with an average humidity of 92 percent.

Gasper, who is majoring in Sport Management, is eager to start his internship with the Circle F Dude Ranch Camp and Outdoor Education Center in Lake Wales, Florida. As a youngster, Gasper attended similar camps and can’t wait to be a counselor for the children.

“During the summers in Ghana, I would go to soccer camps from age 10 to 16 and found it interesting how (the camp counselors) go about it every day,” Gasper said. “It’s not easy to try to control that many kids and teach them sports. It takes a certain skill. You have to keep your emotions in check and learn how to approach them because everyone learns differently.”

Gasper is one of 38 students in Marietta College’s Department of Business & Economics who has secured an internship this summer.

Emily Callam ’23 (Greenville, Indiana) is interning with JPMorgan Chase in Westerville, Ohio. She is excited to be in-person and will be on a financial advisor track this summer at JPMorgan Chase.

“It’s not just for becoming a financial advisor,” said Callam, who is majoring in Finance. “I’m excited about it because I will get the chance to look at the analytics side of the business. I want to put my foot in the door and have the experience of an in-person job — something a lot of people have not had recently.”

Of course, she also hopes it leads to a job offer.

“That would be nice,” she said. “But right now, I am excited to learn more about the company and the type of jobs and work that might be available after I graduate.”

After waiting a month to learn if he made the cut, Thaddeus Graham ’22 (Sunbury, Ohio) then had to go through four rounds of interviews before he finally landed a business service internship with Comcast NBC Universal.

“They hire 100 interns; about 10 are placed in the business services program,” said Graham, who will graduate in December with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing. “I hope that I get to work with marketing analytics, and of course, the opportunity to work for Comcast full-time in the future would be amazing.”

The 11-week internship that began on May 12^th, is actually Graham’s third internship. His past experiences were with First Action Marketing conducting B2B sales while partnering with AT&T. He also did an unpaid internship with Gao Tek Inc. following his sophomore year where he did e-commerce analytics and information systems.

“My experiences at Marietta have really helped me,” said Graham, who is a member of the men’s soccer team. “I think about what I learned in my Management Information Systems class and also my Marketing Research course. I have also been fortunate to be able to partner with Marietta Main Street and assist it with marketing analytics.”

Other strong examples of the type of internships Marietta College’s B&E students will be doing this summer include: Micaela Bradley ’23 (Greenup, Illinois), who will work with USA Softball in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Artemii Stepanets ’23 (St. Petersburg, Russia), with Adobe in Austin, Texas; and Ben Teasdale ’24 (Yorkshire, United Kingdom), with USB in Los Gatos, California. 

“I am really excited about this event management internship with USA Softball,” said Bradley, who plays softball and is majoring in Sport Management.

In her event management course at Marietta, Bradley created an event plan for the USA Softball Junior Olympic Cup.

“I sent in this plan with the rest of my application, and I believe my prior research and ideas about the tournament gave me a competitive advantage in the interview process,” she said. “I am one of only two interns who will be assisting USA Softball with the Women’s College World Series and several other elite tournaments, and I will also have the opportunity to serve as the tournament director for the Junior Olympic Cup from start to finish. I am excited to apply what I have learned through experiences at Marietta College and learn the behind-the-scenes actions required to pull off large-scale events.”

While Gasper doesn’t play sports at the College, he believes his past experience as a soccer player who attended camps in Sweden will help him adjust this summer.

“I have always wanted to be a counselor at a sports camp,” he said. “I am excited to connect with the kids and teach them some basics of soccer and other sports, but also making sure they have a memorable experience.”