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New International Business Club Provides Insight, Networking

A dinner conversation led Zach Milburn, a business administration senior in the NC State University Poole College of Management, to establish the International Business Club (IBC).

While talking with Dr. Shannon Davis, Poole College's associate dean for undergraduate programs, at a student-dean networking event at the start of the fall 2012 semester, Milburn learned that students were looking for sources of advice or insight about traveling or studying abroad.

He has turned that need into an opportunity, drawing on his own international experiences and the organizational skills developed through his business and entrepreneurship studies. Milburn has lived in or traveled to 21 countries, studied at Reims Management School in France, and is co-owner of the Wolf Exchange, an online ad company serving universities.

The new International Business Club was created to promote international business and diversity among the students of NC State University, as well as any students at NC State from abroad. It aims to help students from Poole College as well as international students to effectively engage and network. Robert Sandruck, Poole College's director of international programs, is faculty advisor for the IBC, assisted by Johnathan Conzelmann, Sandrucks graduate assistant.

The IBC also provides students with access to information regarding globally focused enterprises and international job opportunities.

IBC Club members arrange for guest speakers from diverse backgrounds who share their knowledge and experiences in the global marketplace, Milburn said. One of their first guest speakers was James Blome, now president and chief executive officer of Bayer Crop Science North America who spoke on the benefits and difficulties of working in a foreign country.

Another key benefit of club membership is "getting to know and network with other international students," Milburn said. "We have a mentorship program where we pair international students with American students so everyone has a chance to learn from each other. The important part is getting students involved who want an education, and are interested in the growing importance of the international marketplace."

The IBC currently has an executive team, a social committee, and an ambassadors committee, offering many ways for members to be involved. "I don't want to have another club that people will just slap on their resume to look more impressive – that's a bonus – but I hope that we can make it in to something more than that," Milburn said. The club has been drawing 100 or more students to its meetings throughout the fall semester and the club is open to all students at NC State and Skema, the French global business school that has its U.S. campus on NC State's Centennial Campus.

The members of the IBC hope to see the club grow and would like to continue creating relationships with people all over the world.

For more information on the International Business Club, contact Zach Milburn.

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