( Bluefield)—Two months ago, Mike Massaroni knew where Flowers Bakery’s regional facility was located. Now he knows how it operates. The Bluefield State College student spent 150 hours at the expansive facility near Bluefield in an internship initiative that gave him “real world” insight that provides a valuable perspective to complement his classroom experience.

The “Marketing Internship” class taught at BSC by Susan Mann (visiting instructor/Marketing) required students to spend 150 hours in regularly scheduled, part-time assignments at carefully selected business, government, or industrial establishments. “This experience gives students an opportunity to put theory into practice while gaining valuable skills through on-the-job training,” Mann noted.

“I had known John Schwarz (Flowers Bakery president) through church, and I approached him about doing an internship,” Massaroni explained during a recent interview at Flowers Bakery’s Bluefield facility. “He was very receptive to the idea, and I began working here on May 30.”

Paul Dearfield, Human Resource Director at Flowers Bakery, helped to develop Massaroni’s nine week program. “This was our first internship,” Dearfield recounted. “We decided that the best way to accomplish what Mike wanted to achieve was to give him a total internship experience where he would spend time with various departments. That way he could see how Flowers Bakery operated on a day-to-day basks. We didn’t sugarcoat anything.”

Massaroni worked in each department—production, engineering, sanitation, sales, shipping & transport, human resources, accounting, and executive. “It was a great experience, the BSC senior stated. “Everyone was receptive and generous with their time and information. Spending time in each area helped put things in perspective—I got to see how the departments work together.”

“The experience with Mike was a good one for us,” Dearfield added. “We’d be happy to entertain future internship opportunities. Any insight we can give to individuals entering the job market is good for them and for us. When I was a college student, a faculty member told me, ‘I can teach the basics, but you won’t truly learn how to apply those basics until you get into a true working situation.’ An internship puts classroom knowledge to work in the real world.”

After wrapping up his internship on August 4, Massaroni developed a multimedia presentation and report for his class. Throughout the experience, he kept a work journal.

“Mike was a great fit for us. He was a mature student who wanted to learn,” Dearfield observed. “We’d like to think that somewhere along the line, Mike would consider joining our work force.”

“I’ll probably be knocking on your door after I graduate,” Massaroni said.

August 9, 2006