Ca­reer De­vel­op­ment Event: Patrick In­dus­tries

Mishawaka, IND.-- Last Wednes­day night there was a busi­ness meet­ing for in­ter­ested stu­dents, held in the Pres­i­dents Din­ing Room. It was part of the Bethel Col­lege In­tern­ship Pro­gram, and was put on by Patrick In­dus­tries with Bethel alumni as rep­re­sen­ta­tives of the com­pany.  

The pur­pose of the meet­ing was to in­tro­duce Im­pact, Patrick In­dus­tries’ lead­er­ship de­vel­op­ment pro­gram, and to pre­sent stu­dents with the op­por­tu­ni­ties that Im­pact brings to the table. Im­pact is a pro­gram specif­i­cally de­signed to train young en­tre­pre­neurs, de­velop grad­u­ates who show lead­er­ship po­ten­tial and pro­vide proper tools for a suc­cess­ful busi­ness.  

Any participant in the program will work alongside Patrick Industries, observe other businesses and even work on some projects themselves. The program provides a well-rounded experience in the industry, including experience in actual facilities. Participants will see results and the implementation of the projects they helped put into place.  For those who do not know, Patrick Industries is a company that produces anything from custom built RVs, to countertops, aluminum products, and much more. Patrick Industries works with smaller businesses to help them grow and expand their own industry.   They are specifically interested in hiring Bethel graduates to train them for leadership positions within their company. Their presentation Wednesday night was informative about the opportunities they are providing for Bethel graduates, and how they can be trained through the Impact program.   “I appreciate the variety and different potential that Patrick Industries offers to rise and be a leader,” said Angela Lewellen, a senior student.   When asked what results are looked for in a presentation such as the one on Wednesday night, Aaron West, the Business Unit Director of Patrick Industries Interior Component, replied, “The biggest thing we are looking for is exposure of what Patrick Industries does. And when we come to venues like this we are just looking for future talent that has an opportunity to be the future of what we are doing.”   He also said that if any individual is interested in the program or has any questions, please contact westa@patrickind.com .