WKU News

Dalton Ground, a junior from Bowling Green who studies Business Finance and Business Data Analytics, took a leap of faith when he accepted his first internship.

“I never thought I would like anything in the manufacturing industry, but I took advantage of an opportunity. I have loved it,” Ground said.

In January 2020, Ground was hired as a Material Technology Intern with Bilstein Cold Rolled Steel, a German fabricated metal manufacturer located in the Kentucky Transpark. He held the position for more than two years before moving to his current role as a Supply Chain Intern.

“I currently have three main responsibilities,” Ground said. “The first is overseeing our open order system and ensuring orders are properly closed. My second responsibility is working on a devaluation project to help the company move certain products quicker for the right price. Finally, I assist in inventory at our various facilities.”

Ground said he has to work across different departments at Bilstein, and it has helped him apply the concepts he learned in his classes.

“After taking a CIS class, I upgraded my spreadsheets to work more efficiently and be more visually pleasing. I also took an operations management class and have been able to apply the principles to the manufacturing that we do here at Bilstein. Plus, many of the concepts I learned in my finance and accounting classes, I have seen on display firsthand.”

The best part of Ground’s internship experience is all the experience he gained. He said it is clear that Bilstein is committed to his professional journey.

“I got the chance to do many things that helped enrich my internship experience, ranging from assisting with the clean-up after the December tornado that destroyed one of Bilstein’s warehouses, to sitting in on multiple sales meetings, and everything in-between.”

Ground’s internship advice to other students is “start as soon as possible, even if it is something you do not think you will like because you never know.”

The WKU Gordon Ford College of Business has a dedicated Internship Coordinator. For more information on GFCB’s internships, please reach out to our Student Success Center by visiting www.wku.edu/business.