Alden Schell

Graduated: Summer 2004

First job: Account Manager, Premier Staffing, San Francisco, California. Premier Staffing is a premier recruiting firm dedicated to providing the highest quality hiring solutions for their clientele.

Current position: I am touring all around the southeast with a demo CD I produced this past winter. I am testing the waters for my music and am extremely excited about this opportunity!

How did the IB major help with your job search: My time in Beijing certainly instilled a standard of cultural diversity that I had never know before, so now, hearing at least two different languages on my commute doesn't seem out of the ordinary.

Hagan Barnett

Graduated: Fall 2003

First/Current job: Analyst for BearingPoint. I work on a Joint Project between the United States and Australia that is co-developing a next generation heavyweight torpedo to be used by both Navies.

How did the IB major help with your job search: It seems to me that most employers group business majors in a big group, not differentiating Finance from Marketing. They see BBA, and group you together. I feel like my IB degree help separate me. And my language skills gave me an edge. It gave me a distinct quality that my peers didn't have, an international aspect to my degree. I work everyday with foreign nationals, both civilian and military, and I feel that my degree gave me a greater appreciation of how to interact with foreign nationals. Every culture has it's different idiosyncrasies, and understanding those is key to succeeding. Without this knowledge, or appreciation thereof, one can't succeed in the international marketplace, whether it be government to government relations, or private business dealings.

Anna Gingrich

Graduated: Fall 2003

First job: Through AIESEC I got matched up for a 3 month teaching job in Prague, Czech Republic

Current position: International Marketing Manager for www.PragueWeddings.com, the leading wedding company in the Czech Republic and one of the largest in Europe. After teaching for one year at a university in Prague, I decided to stay here long-term and currently work with PragueWeddings.com, working to enhance our company image, expand our market throughout Europe, and increase our wedding sales each year.

How did the IB major help with your job search: I appreciated that in the IB program, we were required to take a wide range of international classes included government, finance, marketing, law, giving me a very well rounded picture of the international community. I honestly never imagined I would really work overseas, but now that I am, I am very grateful for all the classes that were required for our major. I use the knowledge and experience learned in the classes on a daily basis in one respect or another.

JJ Ahern

Graduated: Spring 2001

First job: Georgia Power, I started out in a developmental program in which I got to meet with all the departments in the company to learn about their organizations. From there I did four, four-month rotations in areas I was interested in.

Current position: Georgia Power, After I finished the program, I moved into the Pricing and Rates organization where I have been for a little over 2 years now. It is more of an analytical job in which my partner and I provide rate support to the Client Managers of our larger commercial and Industrial customers.

How did the IB major help with your job search: The main reason I chose IB was because it would NOT close any doors for me if I wanted to go international. The one course that I always think back on was my International Marketing course with Dr. Friedmann. He taught us about diversity of thought amongst different cultures. That was a big lesson, because Georgia Power takes diversity very seriously, externally with our customers and internally with employees.

Derek Norton

Graduated: Spring 2000

First job: Campaign Staff - Georgians for Isakson (working on 6th District Re-elect)

Current position: Regional Director, Office of U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson. I am the contact for our office and represent/speak for the Senator at events in counties north of I-20.

How did the IB major help with your job search: I interned for the Coca-Cola Company in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1999, working with the federal governmental affairs office. I was then introduced to Johnny and his staff, and when I graduated went to work on his campaign. The IB degree helped me get the internship in D.C. that paved the way to working for Johnny Isakson. During my time in his Congressional Office in D.C., I was able to handle small business related legislative issues.

Jennifer Kerwin Nirenberg

Graduated: Fall 2000

First job: Research Analyst, CIA

Current position: Research Analysis, Georgia House of Representatives. I have three committees that I do work for and one is the Banking Committee. My business degree definitely helped me to work with the Banking Committee.

Kathleen Dugan

Graduated: Spring 1999

First job: Project Specialist in the Corporate Sales Department with Kintetsu World Express (U.S.A.), Inc. KWE is a large international air and ocean freight forwarder with an extensive global network. As a Project Specialist, I worked on various freight and logistics proposals for some of the country's largest international shippers. After four years with KWE, I was promoted to Manager, Marketing and Pricing. I now oversee the Americas Region proposal team, and am the leader of all global proposal initiatives. Through our efforts, KWE secures millions of dollars in freight revenue each year. In addition, my team is responsible for managing our United States sales library, publishing a global client newsletter, directing all nation-wide marketing initiatives and developing our company website.

How did the IB major help with your job search: I was able to apply the practical knowledge and skills while pursuing an IB degree at UGA. Classes like International Legal Studies gave me a background in trade terms, letters of credits and terms of sale. International Management and International Marketing helped me understand the different cultural nuances of doing business in other countries. International Economics exposed me to variability of the global economy and fluctuations in currency exchange. My experiences at UGA certainly piqued my interest in International Business, and I have been fortunate to be able to explore various aspects of global trade during my time with KWE.

Scott Borders

Graduated: Fall 1994

First job: Network Analyst, SITA (Societe International de Telecommunications Aeronautique), a global telecom service provide for the airline and travel related industries.

Current position: Project Manager, Equant. (now owned by France Telecom) I manage projects that were sold to U.S. based MNC's but were being deployed globally.

How did the IB major help with your job search: In my first job, it helped shortlist mean and landed an interview as a network analyst. From there, I was interviewed in French (thanks to the language requirement and subsequent minor). I spent 3 years as a network analyst before moving into project management. My foreign language was not as important in my second job, but the position required international experiences and education (i.e. study abroad, international course work) in order to manage projects across multiple currencies, cultures, timezones, etc. The IB degree really laid the foundation for me personally and allowed me to quickly come up to speed faster than some of my peers who had liberal art degrees. In my opinion, the IB degree is not only important, but also strategic-it will set the foundation for future careers.