David Bartine '10

AIT Worldwide Logistics

David Bartine '10 used the summer after he finished his coursework at Cornell to intern at AIT Worldwide Logistics, a freight forwarder in Itasca, Illinois. Bartine worked in the Ocean Pricing group, where he completed quote requests from potential clients as they searched for the best price and service to ship their goods across the world. He spent time working the operations side of the business to set up billing and paperwork for the quotes he compiled, as well as placing calls all over the world to find the information necessary for the quotes.

Bartine leapt into this experience, saying, "My approach from day one with the internship was that the more I learn the more I can benefit AIT." His enthusiasm, interest, and skills served him well as he was offered (and accepted) a position as a customer service and quoting agent in the Perishables Department at AIT Worldwide Logistics.

"When I first found out that I got the internship at AIT I was thinking, 'What does logistics and transportation have to do with Economics and Business?' I never knew how much my Cornell experience actually helped prepare me for this internship. Both in the classroom and the life lessons you learn being on your own prepared me for the three months I would spend working for a real corporation and performing meaningful activities." 

"Working in the classroom and working in a business require a lot of the same type of responsibilities. The most important skill that translates from the classroom into the work force is organization and time management, and you need to understand how to balance a workload, and prioritizing is the best way of doing so. What I have always been taught about work is that you need to work smarter not harder, this implies being efficient in everything you do."

"Another way Cornell prepared me for this experience is through holding each of their students to a standard of accountability the same way a supervisor holds their employees accountable for their work. The list of experiences learned in my time at Cornell that helped prepare me for this internship is never-ending, but I felt these were the most important."

Click here to read David's blog.