International Business Club Provides Students With “Day in the Field” Experiences

As part of the mentor program launched by the University of San Diego’s School of Business undergraduate International Business Club, Jonathan Bocketti BBA ’17 was recently paired with mentor Joji Peters, subcontracts buyer at Northrop Grumman. Bocketti is minoring in supply chain and hopes to use the mentoring program sponsored by the International Business club to learn about different industries and gain connections.

On his “day in the field,” Peters walked Bocketti through a typical day in the supply chain of an aerospace and defense technology company. He sat in on conferences and learned how decisions are made. He also met with Peters’s boss and learned about his own career progression. Later Peters helped Jon polish his resume and introduced him to Northrop Grumman’s hiring manager.

“Joji advised me to be proactive on the job and volunteer for projects,” says Bocketti. “He also encouraged me to be flexible, dynamic and to always ask questions.”

Giselle Romero BBA ’18 was paired with Kyle Moss, program manager and head of global entrepreneurship at Qualcomm Wireless Reach.

“I was surprised at what I gained through the experience and how it opened the door of possibilities for my own career,” says Romero.

Moss, who travels the world and brings technology to underserved communities, showed Romero how business, travel and social impact can all be intertwined in one career. Her advice to Romero is simple: do not be afraid to ask for what you want, the worst thing that will happen is you will hear “no.”

“Kyle told me to make sure I try new things and say yes to new opportunities as you never know what will work out,” says Romero. In fact, through this experience, Moss is referring Romero for an internship at Qualcomm during summer 2016.

Both Bocketti and Romero highly recommend the International Business club’s mentoring program and encourage more students to join. The International Business club launched the mentor program to pair undergraduate students majoring or minoring in international business with business professionals in the San Diego area. In the 2014-15 academic year, 11 students were paired with mentors and in the 2015-16 academic year, another 13 students were paired with mentors from a variety of companies such as Qualcomm, Sempra Energy, Cymer, WD-40, Reebok, Wells Fargo Bank, Northrop Grumman and Starbucks.

“The program is meant to expose students to new career possibilities and concludes with a ‘day in the field’ in which each mentee shadows the mentor on the job,” says Erin Kellaway, external programs manager for the Ahlers Center for International Business, which oversees the club.