BC Students Intern with Local Businesses

During the fall 2018 semester, four Bluefield College students gained real work experience by helping local organizations through internships arranged by the BC Business Department.

Senior Glen Scott helped establish a business plan for a horticulture startup company, Ferguson Farms. Involved in various aspects of the business, Scott assisted the company with marketing, grant writing, and gathering research from other firms.

“They do the farm, and I do the administrative side,” said Scott.

Josh Dye, an assistant project manager for the Bluefield College Caudill School of Business, said students benefit more from doing an internship at a local firm rather than a large corporation.

“Working with a small business provides students a better opportunity to ask questions, have conversations with owners, workers and customers, and gain first-hand business experience,” said Dye. “Instead of just ‘job shadowing’ a business professional at a larger organization, our students are usually performing tasks, completing assignments, and launching campaigns themselves.”

Working for Ferguson Farms gave Scott the chance to experience leadership through project management. “I’ve never been over people before,” he said. “It’s always been me learning, whereas now I’m trying to help someone else learn.”

After graduating, Scott said he plans to work a couple of years with his family’s business, a small concrete company. This fall’s internship, he added, has been “good practice for (his) future” professional career.

Other business students who completed internships during the fall semester were Richard Allen, who worked at Brandom Disney State Farm; Olatunji Ebifemi, who worked at Blue Wolf Cleaners; and Aireon Leary, who worked with the Bluefield College Office of Information Systems and Technology (IST).

Dye said he highly recommends students completing at least one internship before starting their professional career.

“In the classroom, students complete tests and small activities to assess their grasping and understanding of the class’ content,” said Dye. “An internship offers them a platform to use the course knowledge that they acquired in the classroom and apply it to a real life, real business scenario.”