Internship Offers Comprehensive Exposure to Beloit-Based Business

Hayley Tran’21 began her internship with Corporate Contractors, Inc. in May. The general contractor has headquarters in Beloit and an extensive set of projects that include the college’s soon-to-open Powerhouse.

She worked closely with five different departments: accounting, business development, marketing, human resources, and operations. With a double major in business economics and media studies, and a minor in journalism, Tran utilized many of her interests and skills, from revising accounting reports to communicating strategies with other local businesses.

“To me, the coolest part of the internship was how I could be flexible with my tasks,” Tran says. “Since it was an interdisciplinary internship, I was exposed to many aspects of a business.”

She also made a discovery: No matter what she does in the future, she hopes to have flexibility and the freedom to experiment.

The rising junior from Hanoi, Vietnam, learned about the CCI internship through Engaging in the World of Work, a new Beloit course offered through the college’s Career and Community Engagement Center. She learned how to create a portfolio and mentally prepare for a greater degree of independence, both in and out of the workplace.

“At CCI, I was granted a lot of autonomy over my tasks, so I could not only work with whatever I’m most confident with, but also be able to improve any other area—as long as I enjoyed doing them,” she says.