Cole Borden ’24 — First, I would like to thank the gracious donors for funding my summer internship and making it a reality. Also, I want to thank the Center for Innovation, Business & Entrepreneurship (CIBE) at Wabash College, specifically Associate Dean Roland Morin ’91, for allowing students like me to get hands-on experience in the world of business. Through the Business Innovation Program (BIP) this summer, we gained experience that is very rare for rising sophomores in college. In the BIP, we heard from many alumni about their experiences in business and entrepreneurship. They helped guide us through case studies as well. Discussing Harvard Business School and MBA-level case studies was an experience most have to pay for to obtain. I am very thankful for that.
Furthermore, I gained personal development skills thanks to emotional intelligence (EQ) training exercises with former CIBE Senior Fellow Alejandro Reyna ’17. We learned a lot about controlling our emotions in these training sessions. In addition to that, we learned the benefits of smiling, nodding, and expressing gratitude. We even practiced smiling in the mirror, which was helpful. I also gained a lot of small talk training. I now find myself more comfortable with striking up conversations with new people.
As a part of my BIP experience, I was also able to intern with a company in Chicago, IL called Purchasing Platform. Working with this company has given me lots of valuable insights into the business world. As an intern, I didn’t feel like I was doing monotonous work. I was really contributing to the business, which was very fulfilling. I worked on various projects. Sometimes I would be doing marketing. Other times, I would be working on creating databases for the company to reference when they need contractors around the country. To go along with these projects, every week, our Wabash alumnus CEO would sit down and check in with us. He gave us a lot of advice on business and entrepreneurship. These experiences are unique. I am grateful to be getting hands-on experience that I would not get anywhere else but Wabash. To anyone considering the CIBE at Wabash, I hope that sharing my summer experiences was helpful in that decision-making process. Wabash Always Fights!
