Preparing Well-Rounded Professionals

A recent trip to Texas left Amanda Bruening with newfound appreciation for what it takes to deliver an online order to her door.

The Alverno Business and Management major was one of 10 Milwaukee-area college students selected from 150 applicants for Destination Innovation, offered through The Commons. The whirlwind trip brought the students to Dallas to visit Kohl's giant e-fulfillment center and learn about its logistics processes. It also presented an opportunity for Bruening to test the concepts she is learning about in her classes in the real world.

“I can't believe all that happened behind the scenes,” she says. “There are human beings who make sure my package gets shipped to my door. That takes a lot of energy and time, which I appreciate a lot more now.”

Bruening, who transferred to Alverno, will graduate in May 2018 and is hoping to pursue a career in sales and marketing. She's confident that she'll possess the skills and qualities that employers demand, such as finding creative solutions to problems and a drive to keep learning and growing.

“Alverno has been preparing me to become the professional I aspire to be since the moment I came here,” she says. “Between the more technical lessons that I learn in my classes and the more personal lessons that I can take away from my classmates and professors, the entirety of my education has been molding me into a well-rounded individual, both personally and professionally.”

Internships are an integral part of the Alverno experience, and Bruening appreciates the chance to earn hands-on experience in the marketing and sales department of Biz Times Media in Milwaukee. She was especially proud to help launch the publication's “Stuff Made and Built in Southeast Wisconsin,” which aimed to inform high school and technical college students of the many education and career options available to them in a growing economy.

“I believe in this,” says Bruening, whose family members work in the trades and manufacturing. She sold one-third of the company and employee profiles featured in the publication, bringing new clients to BizTimes in the process.

“It's rewarding,” she says. “I'm helping businesses in southeast Wisconsin get their names out there.”