Panel: Learn languages and cultures; it’s a small world, after all
Special to the Gazette
Friday, October 27, 2006
Emporia High School students learned that a community as small as Emporia offers many opportunities for careers in international business.
Approximately three dozen EHS students who are studying second languages heard this week from a panel of local business representatives and university students about promising job opportunities in international business. The panel was organized by EHS foreign language teacher Jack Heinrichs and Emporia State University business professor Raffaele DeVito.
“We want you to understand why what you’re doing today in your studies in language and culture will have an impact on future job opportunities,” DeVito said. “There is a lot more going on in this state internationally than most of you know about. This is a story that’s still unfolding and the future looks very bright.”
Panel members represented three Emporia companies -- Glendo Corporation, Hopkins Manufacturing and Vektek, Inc. — and a Madison company — ABZ Corporation. All these companies have global markets that are expanding. This requires them to have employees who can travel to other countries and work comfortably in other cultures. Companies need employees who can speak, write and read in multiple languages to communicate with suppliers and dealers as well as translate labels and packaging into those languages.
Jim Garton, vice president of material handling at Hopkins Manufacturing, said his company purchases products overseas to produce products that are later sold in multiple countries.
“We have to learn to market differently,” he said. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of understanding the culture of countries you’re dealing with.”
This includes understanding the transportation and travel systems, customs and paperwork requirements.
“It is becoming one big global economy, which makes life more interesting because it gives you a lot more career options,” Garton said. “You can get technical training but the emphasis (in your education) should be with cultural awareness.”
Students also heard from Jim Hill, president of Vektek, and Shelley Finley, sales director at Glendo.
Hill emphasized the importance of understanding global cultures because business is all about building relationships among individuals and creating networks for the future. He said it also is critical to understand global economies and competition.
Finley, a 1999 EHS graduate, encouraged students to travel abroad if they have the opportunity so they are comfortable in other parts of the world. She said her foreign travel experiences gave her an edge when she interviewed for her job at Glendo. The company exports products to over 60 countries and her job is to work with 37 dealers outside the U.S.
“Once you understand the transportation system, you can get around and get where you need to be,” she said.
Jessica Linsea, an ESU graduate student, and Enilda Romero, talked about their studies and opportunities for internships. Enilda was an international intern for ABZ Corporation in Madison, a company that manufactures valves that are found around the world. She translated materials and handled telephone calls and e-mail communications with distributors.
Jessica also encouraged students to take advantage of educational trips and exchange programs abroad so they understand how to travel, order in restaurants and book hotels in other countries.
“If you get off the beaten path, there is less English spoken so it forces you to learn to communicate on their level. People will be so much more accommodating to you,” she said.
DiVito, who also is the chair of the Kansas International Trade Coordinating Council, organized the panel in cooperation with Trade Development Division of the Kansas Department of Commerce. He said ESU is piloting the program and plans to take panels to other Kansas high schools.