During my junior year at Ferrum College, a professor in an international business class organized a field trip to McAirlaid’s, Inc. in Rocky Mount, Virginia. The company specializes in the manufacturing of absorbent materials for the hygiene and food packaging industries. During this field trip, a classmate of mine inquired about possible internships with the company. Luckily for me, the answer was yes. That summer, I served as intern and assistant to the entire administrative staff. They allowed me time with production, sales, and accounting so that I could get a flavor for what the company did on a daily basis. After graduation from Ferrum, I accepted a job offer with the company.
I was hired to go into sales, specifically the food packaging business. Some of my daily tasks include conducting market research, developing products, managing customer relationships, handling trademarks for our products, and developing general business. The most challenging aspect of the job is learning how an entire ecosystem of products, competitors, suppliers, and brokers interact with one another to form the industry.
If given the chance to go back and change my four years at Ferrum College, I would not change a thing. I was hesitant at first to attend such a small college so far away from my native Arizona. I decided to give it a go because it was a different experience from the ones my closest friends were getting at larger four year institutions. I never looked back. I was the number one player on the Panther tennis team all four years, and was team captain for three of them. I was employed in sports information, which was another integral part of my time at the College. I got hands-on experience with running sporting events, managing websites, and creating a good experience for spectators. These skills that Ferrum provided me were directly transferable to the professional world. Last but not least, I have to say that working with such a talented group of coaches, professors, administrators, and staff prepared me for anything I have to face on a daily basis.
Christopher Miller is currently employed by McAirlaid's, Inc. and lives in Ferrum, Virginia. He graduated from Ferrum College in 2013 with a degree in international studies. He was captain of the tennis team for three years while at Ferrum.