Esther Heckmann, an Honors College student pursuing a B.S.B.A. in management with an organizational leadership concentration and an additional major in German, has successfully landed a semester-long internship with the German company Krones, a manufacturing group in Germany with 16,500 employees worldwide.

Krones specializes in product lines for beverages and liquid food, although they also work in digitalization of factories, recycling, and automation. Heckmann is currently working in the Strategic Purchasing Group in Neutraubling, Germany, where she contributes to cost and marketing analysis and supplier relations.

Heckmann said regarding her internship, "working at Krones has been a great learning opportunity for me. Not only am I getting to experience the professional working world in Germany, but I am also learning about price-saving strategies and negotiation techniques through the work I am doing here."

Prior to the internship, she refined her German skills during a year of study as an exchange student at the University of Regensburg.  After graduation, Heckmann plans to pursue an international career, whether eventually completing a masters in Germany or working in economic development in other countries or both.

"If there is one thing I can recommend to any college student, it would be to study abroad," Heckman said. "There is nothing else during this stage of your life that will grow you as a person, help you to learn more about yourself, and help you to understand people from many different backgrounds than studying abroad will."