Local Internship, Global Connections

Kjerstin Engebretson '16, Breckenridge, Minn.
Majors: Business, Global Studies

Engebretson always knew she would end up working in some kind of international business, so an internship at Microsoft seemed the perfect fit.

“You can’t get much more global than Microsoft,” she says.

A double major in business and global studies, Engebretson is an intern with Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance, which provides free software to educational institutions all over the world. So far, Engebretson has connected with people from places like India, Germany, Russia, Pakistan and Central America.

However, what makes her internship particularly interesting is how she and her team communicate.

Engebretson can’t lean over to the adjacent cubicle to have a chat with a co-worker. She works on an international team of six from Fargo, Boston and Copenhagen. They use email, IM via Skype, and Skype for business calls.

“We connect daily, often multiple times a day, thus Skype and email allow us to communicate quickly and efficiently,” she says.

Engebretson enjoys every aspect of her internship – happy to be challenged and pushed out of her comfort zone. She will continue the internship throughout the academic year and is eager to see what happens next.

“I know that this experience with Microsoft has greatly impacted my path for the future,” she says.

^{Published September 2015}