Program, school resources prepared Brian Magridal for internship experience
Networking and mock interviews helped Magridal land an internship at ForTrade International.
Many Multicultural Business Scholars take part in an internship during their time at the School of Business. Many of these internships take place over the summer, but some of them happen right in the middle of stressful semesters. Brian Magridal, a junior accounting major and Multicultural Business Scholar, falls into the second camp and started an internship during the spring semester.
Magridal interns at ForTrade International (FTI), founded in 1990 and located 10 minutes away from the Lawrence campus. FTI is a manufacturer’s representative, distributor, and procurer for a variety of industries. According to Magridal, his internship offers experience in multiple sectors of business, from sales to supply chain management. He sells, procures, and receives aerospace inventory, and distributes that product to international customers located in countries like Japan.
Networking proved valuable for Magridal when it came time to search for an internship for this year. He is a member of the professional business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi, and it was through a connection to a fraternity member that he was able to find and open the door to this opportunity. Magridal attributes the networking skills he utilized to earn the internship to his experiences in MBSP connecting with employers at various MBSP monthly business meetings.
In preparation for the interview process, he took advantage of Business Career Services mock interviews, where he practiced his responses and learned how to ask the right questions at the end of an interview.
Since starting the internship, he’s applied the concepts and lessons he learned at the School of Business. For example, Magridal uses the skills he learned in his business writing class every day.
“I send probably 20 to 30 emails [per] day to vendors and customers,” he said. “Communication skills and attention to detail are really important.”
He also consistently works in Microsoft Excel, which he learned in the core information systems course, IST 310. And as an accounting major, he has solid understanding of accounting terminology and concepts he encounters daily at FTI.
After the completion of his internship, which concludes at the end of 2021 summer, Magridal looks forward to applying to the Master of Accounting Program at KU, where he will continue his accounting education and prepare for the CPA exam.
