up next Tianna Engen
Tianna Engen
Making an Impact from Day One
UNK is preparing students for the real world long before graduation day
January 2019
The value of an internship in college can’t be understated. Students with the resourcefulness to get hands-on in their first jobs are generally in short supply. But not in Kearney, Nebraska, where University of Nebraska Kearney business students are encouraged to take internships while in school.
Tianna Engen was one of those students. Now a corporate accountant with The Buckle, a clothing retailer, the Kearney native didn’t even have to job search after college. Engen spent two years with The Buckle as an internal audit and finance intern while earning her degree in business administration with an accounting emphasis. UNK’s emphasis on practical experience for well-rounded learning is a proven recipe for creating in-demand employees.
“There are many great programs at UNK training students to be successful once they leave the university,” said Ryan Brown, a recruiting specialist for The Buckle. “We can immediately plug these students in with one of our teams and they can begin to help advance the company on day one.”
“Because of that internship, it made me so marketable to businesses I could start a step ahead of an entry-level spot,” said Engen, who is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration through UNK.
“We can immediately plug these students in with one of our teams and they can begin to help advance the company on day one.”
So marketable, that she was able to leverage a second job offer to get an even better one with The Buckle.
UNK understands that there’s only so much learning that can happen in a classroom. And by pushing students to explore their strengths through internships, they gain the confidence and practical skills that companies want. With continued support of the university, this kind of thinking will help the state continue to meet its workforce needs now, and well into the future.
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