Honors Student Finds Success at German American Business Summit and Career Fair

The College of Charleston held its 6th annual German American Business Summit (GABS) on March 29, 2022, with approximately 175 attendees including business representatives, students and members of the campus community. The Spring Career and Internship Fair, which took place immediately after the summit, featured 115 companies and more than 400 job seekers.

Senior Honors College student Hannah Ploskonka was among several students who got more than they expected out of the career fair when Walter Kaufmann, CEO of P3, a German consulting company specializing in areas including automotive, banking and insurance, IT and energy, offered them jobs on the spot.  

Hannah Ploskonka (Photo by Zoey Zoschg)

Ploskonka, an international business major and European studies and dance minor, also sought out P3 at the career fair.

“With the tagline ‘business as unusual,’ I wanted to learn more,” says the Honors College student, who is currently completing an internship at a 3PL logistics company. After sharing her resume, the P3 team asked her to return in 15 minutes for an interview.  

“I spoke about my leadership experience with CofC, specific class projects including ImpactX and peer mentoring for a global simulation class where my team finished with among the highest profitability based on real-time decisions,” says Ploskonka, who had a flash mentoring session with Honors Faculty Fellow Lancie Affonso ’96 right before the interview at TD Arena.

With her multiple internships and creative, entrepreneurial interests, Ploskonka was a strong candidate who immediately stood out. Kaufmann was so impressed, he also made her an offer, but before she accepted, Ploskonka spoke with four current consultants at the company to make sure it was the right fit.  

“I realized this was my dream job that I didn’t even realize was a possibility,” says Ploskonka, who later called Kaufmann and accepted the position as a consultant based in Greenville, South Carolina. She’ll be assigned clients based on her strengths and interests.“I can build a portfolio for myself and be pushed to create growth opportunities within the company.”   

It just goes to show that opportunities await.

 

To learn more about the German American Business Summit and Career Fair, check out the full article by Darcie Goodwin in The College Today.

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