206 [organizations] opportunity The International Business Society, or IBS, was a student organization created to bring together both business and international students and to provide themwith important networking opportunities, as well as to prepare them for the real business world. One activity that members looked forward to most was the annual IBS trip to WalMart Headquarters, located in Bentonville, Ark. For the past four years, students enjoyed the opportunity to visit with the CEO of Wal-Mart, as well as important executives. The trip was usually kicked off with a dinner. The next morning, they attended a meeting and, following the meeting, students were able to hold a question and answer session with some of the Wal-Mart executives. Junior marketing and international business major and IBS President Diego Alvarado considered the trip to be a valuable learning experience. “We were able tomeet with the CEOand have a group of executives answer our questions,” Alvarado said. “We are actually one of the few, if not the only group, allowed to attend their Saturday meetings since the Walton family has such a close link to Harding.” Guadalupe Ramirez, a junior international business and finance major and IBS vice president, also appreciated the unique possibility to attend the Saturday meetings. “There we have the opportunity to hear about their performance in that week, what they did wrong and what was a good idea,” Ramirez said. “They also discuss their plans for the coming weeks.” In the summer of 2007, four IBS members were fortunate enough to gain internships with Wal-Mart throughout Central America, including Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras. Alvarado found the visit to Wal-Mart to be very beneficial, both personally and professionally. “Through the trip, we met some of the recruitment officers and important executives who are always looking out for new students ready to graduate and interested in working for Wal-Mart back home,” Alvarado said. “Personally, I’m looking forward to obtaining an internship position for this summer and then obtaining a work opportunity when I graduate.” At theWal-Mart meeting, the students had the opportunity tomake a small presentation about IBS, Harding’s Walton scholars and the members’ experiences working for WalMart. As a business major, Ramirez was thankful for the valuable experience. “Having the opportunity to gain insight into one of the world’s most successful businesses is a privilege,” Ramirez said. “The fact that these people take time out of their busy schedule to talk to us is an amazing opportunity. We are looking forward to having more people working for Wal-Mart, both permanent jobs and internships.” Alvarado also reflected on the value of being an IBS member. “I’ve become part of a social network with people from all over the world,” Alvarado said. “I’ve visited different companies and met with successful businessmen and women who have shared their experiences. Overall, I have had a lot of fun while earning important business experience.” [Danielle Kanipe] Wal-Mart welcomes business students Row 1: S. Featherstone, C. Dunnagan, J. Sears, E. Garcia, J. Landis. Row 2: K. Johns, C. Jordan, S. Riggs, R. Moody, D. McCullough. Row 3: A. Burnett, P. Erwin, N. Horton. [students in free enterprise]
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==