Miami Courant

University of Miami junior Mohammed Aljurayyan started his own company in high school, but his internship available through the Toppel Career Center helped him gain more insight about the marketplace.

Growing up, Mohammed Aljurayyan loved to play video games at his home in Saudi Arabia.   

But the teenage entrepreneur recognized that he was not the only gamer and saw an opportunity to capitalize on his pastime. Toward the end of high school, Aljurayyan opened an online gaming store called Vize Store, where he would sell digital gift cards for video games—which included Roblox and Nintendo—and for the Apple and Samsung store. 

In its three short months of operation, Aljurayyan’s Vize Store was successful. His operation was more nimble than others in the Middle East because it delivered game codes instantly, and Aljurayyan was able to save some money for college. The experience also inspired him to study at the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School. 

“I want to find the most efficient ways to get people what they want in an easier way,” said Aljurayyan, now a junior, who is studying business analytics and technology. 

In the future, he plans to reopen and rebrand his online store, but to also explore other industries. “In the future, I want to start my own airlines and hotels,” said Aljurayyan. “There are so many things I want to do.” 

Yet, the business student also recognizes that he needs more experience. He enrolled in the University’s Toppel Career Center’s internship program this fall and landed an internship at Heinemann Americas, a company that does logistics, supply chain management, distribution, and travel retail to the Americas. He is now working at Heinemann part time and shared some details of his internship experience. 

How did you discover this particular internship?

I found it through Toppel’s job search platform, Handshake, and I applied and got an interview. 

When were you working and what were you doing?

I worked two days a week as an order management intern and sometimes went into their Coral Gables office. In this role, I would manage orders and process them on a software system called SAP. I spoke also with partners, subcontractors, and companies who purchase from us. We were fulfilling orders for them and often gave these clients recommendations. I also did some analysis for the company, where I observed how sales were performing and tried to predict or project sales for the new year. 

What types of things did you learn?

I learned how to communicate with people in professional ways, and the internship also helped me improve my time management skills. Also, I have improved on my technical analysis, which are skills that I learned from school and then applied at Heinemann. This helped build my confidence about my own analysis of sales and projected sales, as well. 

How does this internship align with your educational or career goals?

Eventually, I want to start my own businesses in Saudi Arabia and go international. So, working at Heinemann has helped me to make a lot of professional connections. It has also helped me to be more confident in my work, and I’ve also improved in my ability to communicate with others and to be more creative. 

Would you recommend this experience to others?

Yes, definitely. Internships can help you build your skills in your chosen industry, and they can also help you learn new professional skills as well. They can also help you to market yourselves because internships give you an experience to talk about with potential employers. Finally, through internships, you can improve your skills in a certain area, or they can help you decide which industry you want to work in. Internships can also help you decide if you want to go to graduate school.

Original source can be found here.