The UW System Board of Regents heard many positive reports and stories about UW-Stout when it hosted the board’s October meeting Thursday and Friday, Oct. 5-6, at the Memorial Student Center.
One of those stories came firsthand from senior Gabriella “Gabi” Parker, of South St. Paul, Minn. Parker was chosen to speak to the board Friday morning during the Student Spotlight, featuring one student’s experience.
Parker, a business administration major with an emphasis on sales and marketing, said that thanks to UW-Stout she is on the right track to a successful career. In fact, even though she doesn’t graduate until May, she already has accepted a full-time job offer from Target Corp. in Minneapolis in the Executive Team Leader program beginning in June 2018, with a plan also to pursue her master’s of business administration degree.
“UW-Stout made me into the leader that I am today and set me up for a successful professional career in the future. There were organizations that I could join to expand my leadership. There were hands-on learning opportunities that set me up for success,” Parker said.
Parker has had leadership experiences through the Alpha Phi national sorority as vice president of Chapter Operations and attending three national leadership conferences. She also is president of the National Panhellenic Sororities.
She is in the McNair Scholars Program on campus, has received three scholarships from Stout University Foundation and has received the Chancellor’s Award for academic honors five times. In late October, she will present her McNair research project on marketing strategy in Miami, Fla.
Parker received the Target job offer after completing the 10-week executive store intern program last summer in Woodbury, Minn., and she has continued to work there this fall on weekends as an extended intern. The internship was part of UW-Stout’s Cooperative Education Program, a requirement in her major.
“I had an amazing experience with my co-op. I learned how to run a store and what needs to be done to keep people shopping at the store. I also learned how to lead a team. This was so important to me,” she said, saying a class exercise in developing her LinkedIn profile led to a contact from a Target recruiter.
In her business administration classes, she has been part of collaborative projects with actual businesses. “In Marketing Management, we took a business and redid its marketing strategies. We were working on a real business, creating real ads and promotional tactics that they could use.”
Parker was introduced by UW System President Ray Cross and accompanied by her father, John Parker; program director Mark Fenton; and Barb Miller, Multicultural Student Services director.
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Photos
Top: Gabriella “Gabi” Parker speaks Friday at the UW System Board of Regents meeting held on campus.
Bottom: Gabi Parker with UW System President Ray Cross, left, and UW-Stout Chancellor Bob Meyer.
