GM intership gives students opportunities
An internship programcalled General Motors Marketing Internship (GMMI), sponsored by General Motors, gave 10 Utah State University students a unique opportunity to put their education to work in the real world.
It is the first time USU students have participated in the program.
According to the press release, GMMI is part of a large industry-education program which was initiated with the intention to bridge the gap between education and industry and provide students with a hands-on working experience to make them more prepared and competent for their future job hunting.
The interns’ main job is to investigate and research the local market, design an interactive promotional plan and present the plan to client Axtel-Taylor GM and GM executives. The interns will then implement a real marketing event and evaluate its impact on the target market, according to the press release.
The intern group will be allotted $2,500 budget to bring this marketing campaign to life in about 10 weeks.
The objective of this project is to increase the public awareness of GM vehicles and keep them informed of the advancement of GM’s automobiles, referring to the GMMI public relations plan.
Justin Merrill, majoring in interdisciplinary studies with emphasis on integrated marketing and public relations, is one of the GMMI public relations coordinators.
“The Utah State University GMMI team consists of five departments, research, public relations, campaign development, advertising, campaign implementation and campaign reporting and analysis,” Merrill said.
Angie Howard at EdVenture partners, the firm which handles this education program, supervises the interns’ work.
Howard said the internship is offered once a year at a limited number of universities.
“[This program] creates a synergy between [the interns], and gives the students a combined knowledge in each part of the program, research, advertising, public relations, budget and promotions,” Howard said.
Students who want to join in GMMI should be at least a junior and have at least a 3.0 GPA. Students will be selected based on their resumés and personal interviews, Merrill said.
At present, Merrill said, the interning students are all in upper-division classes and specialize in marketing, public relations, graphic design or business management, which make them more suitable and qualified to carry out a comprehensive marketing plan that requires a lot of fundamental knowledge about marketing and public relations.
The students have free reign over their ideas and are encouraged to make professional decisions, Merrill said.
Brent Miller, a senior majoring in marketing, is currently an intern with GMMI. He participates in designing and implementing a real marketing event which aims to get students interactive with GM vehicles.
“I feel good about this internship. It has been very challenging and has given me a chance to apply what is learned in class,” Miller said.
Chad Kirby, a junior majoring in business management, is a lead coordinator of the internship program and one of the members of the research team.
“I expect to gain a greater understanding of how marketing works and how it relates to General Motors,” Kirby said.
It is not a paid internship, but the interns can get college credits from this valuable working experience achieved by working for one of the top producers of vehicles in the United States, Merrill said.
Howard said, “With the performance of the Utah State students involved this year, I have little doubt we will offer it again next spring.”
GMMI has been implemented in approximately 350 campuses nationwide, and USU is the only university in Utah that participates in this program, Merrill said.