Student Success
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Kathryn Lo Porto, Fairhope, AL
Kathryn received her undergraduate degree at the University of Mississippi in 2004 in International Studies and Spanish. She lived in Santiago, Chile in the fall of 2002 where she studied the language and foreign policy. She has a MS in Criminal Justice from the University of Alabama and worked as an Investigator for the Baldwin County District Attorney’s office. In 2009, she returned to the University of Alabama and is currently pursuing her MA in Secondary Education with an emphasis in English as a Second Language. After graduation in May 2012, she hopes to teach English overseas.
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| Casey Sturgill, Walnut Cove, NC
Casey received his undergraduate degree in 2007 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he double-majored in Journalism and Sports Science. After graduating he worked in the sports industry for 2 years before coming to the University of Alabama for his master’s degree in Sport Management. After completing the Sport Management program, he began the Master’s of Business Administration program with a concentration in Strategy and a focus on Entrepreneurship. He will graduate in May of 2012.
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| Bob Weber, Montgomery, AL |
Former Research Assistants
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Eric Hess Trussville, AL Eric majored in International Business Administration and Spanish, with a concentration in International Marketing. In 2008 he lived in Alcala de Henares, Spain, studying Spanish language, culture and art. He is a member of several organizations, including Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Society and American Marketing Association. In addition to refereeing intramural basketball, Eric coaches a co-ed basketball team at the University. Following graduation he began working for Regions Financial Corporation. |
| Reid Owens Birmingham, AL Reid is a spring 2009 graduate from UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration with a degree in International Business Management and a minor in Spanish. In the spring of 2008, Reid spent a semester studying at the Universidad de Granada, in Granada, Spain. While there, he researched Spain’s growing demand for solar panels on behalf of an AITC client. Reid also had the opportunity to volunteer at Flatwoods Elementary as an ESL tutor during his undergraduate studies. After graduation, he returned to Spain to teach English and culture before attending graduate school. |
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Matthew Wehner Mobile, AL Matt is certified in the German language at EU level C2/Mastery and has studied several times in Germany and Austria. He has traveled extensively throughout the European continent, gaining the perspective needed to help clients connect with international markets. As an MBA student in the Enterprise Consulting concentration, he is manager of the team that is developing Project LEARN (Launching Entrepreneurs Across Rural Networks), which will provide entrepreneurship training and mentoring to dislocated workers in rural Alabama. The project is funded by ADECA and the U.S. Dept. of Labor, and the AITC and ASBDC will be an important partner in providing services to the project’s clients. Before beginning the MBA program, Matt taught German at the undergraduate and graduate levels and was an assistant in the Language Resource Center. Prior to returning to graduate school, Matt was a restaurant manager with McDonald’s and a travel center co-manager with Pilot, LLC. After graduation, Matt was hired on at Proctor & Gamble. |
| Qiyin Liao Changsha, China Qiyin joined the Trade Center in August of 2008, while beginning his first year at the MBA program. He holds two degrees from the Central South University in Changsha: Master of Technical Economy & Management, and a Bachelor of Metallic Material Engineering. Before beginning the MBA program, Qiyin worked in Shanghai as a Sales Engineer in a Swedish company – Hoganas, which is the No. 1 manufacturer of iron and metal power in the world. As a sales engineer, he led customer management and relationship development in southern China (mainly in 5 provinces). Also, He led or co-worked in new products launching projects and assisted with marketing activities. Qiyin has returned to Hoganas in their Shanghai office. |  |
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Chela Canler Metairie, LA Chela is a Bachelor of Science candidate currently pursuing a double-major in International Marketing and German, with a minor in Mathematics. She is fluent in Spanish, and has taken advantage of UA’s Study Abroad Programs to gain fluency in French, German, and Italian. Chela is the recipient of UA’s Presidential Merit and Achievement Scholarship, a National Merit Finalist, and a National Hispanic Scholar. Her broad language skills and international experience have allowed her to work on a wide variety of export market research projects. She recently returned from a consulting project with a marketing firm in Dublin, Ireland. |
| Ryan Ebersold Harvest, AL Ryan is senior at the University of Alabama who pursuing a major in International Business with a concentration in Management and a minor in Spanish. He has traveled to numerous countries throughout Europe and has recently completed the UA study abroad program in Spain. His international experience has greatly benefited his ability to take on numerous projects at the AITC. Ryan is currently working with the Department of Defense as a Contract Manager for projects in Dubai and Kuwait. Ryan plans on returning to school to obtain an advanced degree in Intellectual Property Rights in International Law. |  |
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Alex G. Chandler Spanish Fort, AL Alex is a rising senior at the University of Alabama where he is majoring in Global Supply Chain Management and Chinese, with minor in History. Last summer he lived in Hefei, China teaching English for an international micro-finance organization. He has recently been named a 2008-09 Rotary International Cultural Ambassadorial Scholar. He is currently working on several continuous improvement projects as an engineering intern with Johnson Controls in Cottondale, AL. Following his graduation, Alex began a Chinese immersion program at the Taipei Language Institute in Taiwan. After his six-month immersion program he will return to the United States to begin a career in the field of procurement, international logistics, or global supply chain solutions. |
| Xinjie Wu Shanghai, China
Xinjie received her MBA degree in 2008 and was hired as a Strategic Marketing Analyst at FedEx’s headquarters in Memphis. She is a 2006 graduate of Limburg Business School in the Netherlands with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Her studies at Limburg included a summer semester in Alabama. While in China, Xinjie held several positions at ABN AMRO Bank in both Shanghai and Singapore. Xinjie selected The University of Alabama MBA program to deepen and broaden her analytical, quantitative and leadership skills. |
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Natasha Shkolnyk Chernivtsy, Russia Shkolnyk, who is fluent in Russian and Ukranian, received her MBA degree in May, 2007, with concentrations in finance and economics. Prior to joining the AITC research staff, she worked with MortgageAmerica, Merrill Lynch, and as an economics lab instructor. Natasha worked with several AITC clients to help them prepare SBA loan guarantee applications and Export-Import Bank Working Capital loan guarantees.
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Barbara Blaylock Madison, AL Blaylock, who graduated with a double major in economics and mathematics, completed five semesters as a researcher at the Trade Center. She also worked as a teaching assistant for undergraduate economics classes. Blaylock was a member of the University Honors Program, International Honors Program, Business Honors Program and Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. In her final year at UA, she received the Economics Faculty Scholar Award and the Outstanding Economics Student Award. She was also awarded the prestigious and highly competitive National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship. This scholarship allowed her to work at the Office of the Chief Economist at NOAA. After graduation, Blaylock accepted a Senior Research Analyst position atLECG, a ‘think tank’ in Washington DC that provides expert services, including independent expert testimony, original studies and strategic advice to corporations, law firms, local, state and regional governments and governmental agencies in the United States and internationally. |
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Stephen Hart Diamondhead, MS Earned an undergraduate degree in Japanese and East Asian Studies. From there he worked in Japan, teaching English and business through the Japan Exchange Teaching Program. Upon returning to America he started an internship with the New Orleans Export Assistance Center. Stephen worked at AITC during his two years in UA’s MBA Program, providing export research to Alabama’s small businesses and mentoring undergraduate students. His time at UA also included a summer internship in Washington DC, for the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade. Upon graduation, he was hired as an Export Operations Specialist for Nissan North America. |
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H. Charles Aleman Orlando, FL Charlie worked at AITC for four semesters, graduating with a major in Quantitative Finance and minors in Economics and Japanese. He was awarded the UA Presidential Scholarship, National Hispanic Scholarship, and AIE-J Scholarship. He spent one year studying in Japan at Chiba University as part of his minor. Charlie was one of three AITC interns selected for the Maersk-Sealand Finance MISE program; there were only 10 positions available nationwide. The program is a two-year training program including practical experience and academic work in the US and Denmark. At the end of the two years MISE graduates will accept positions in overseas offices. In 2007 Charlie accepted a position with the company’s corporate finance group in Dubai. |
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Sean Sylvia Prattville, AL Sean spent time in Japan teaching English and studied at Nihon University, College of Economics. Sean was an Economics major/Chinese minor and was selected to participate in a National Science Foundation research trip to study the environmental impact of economic development in Shaanxi, China. He was also awarded the Senior Faculty Excellence award for Economics. In 2007 Sean was awarded a Fullbright Scholarship to study factors affecting the availability of financing available to small-scale rural entrepreneurs and what impact the lack of formal credit and financial systems has had on the development of private enterprise in rural areas. He will be based at Northwest University in Xi’an where he will be conducting research in northern Shaanxi province. |
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Debdeep Chatterjee Calcutta, India Debdeep received a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. He then pursued an MBA at UA with a concentration in Financial Engineering. Prior to joing the AITC research team, Debdeep worked at Huntington Bank in Cincinnati, SAP Labs in Bangalore, and Schlumberger Oilfield Services in Caracas and Dubai. While at AITC, Debdeep provided strategic consulting to US traders on export financing, risk management, and market intelligence. He is currently a financial services manager at Ernst & Young in North Carolina, and recently published a technical article in a global risk journal.
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