Farewell to Walton MBA Student Workers

We are saying goodbye to three incredible student workers as they leave for local internships. Ashley Perone, Chrissy Matlock and Cornelia Swardh have been instrumental in assisting staff and helping to organize key Walton MBA events. Each student worker has been awarded a yearlong internship with local corporations and will be moving to the next chapter in their professional development.

Cornelia Swardh is a junior undergraduate majoring in supply chain with a business analytics minor. Cornelia was a program support specialist and responsible for assisting Vikas Anand, the executive director of MBA Programs and Graduate Innovation. She leaves her role on May 11 to begin her time at Colgate as a customer service and logistics intern. She is involved in the U of A campus through the Walton Honor’s Program, is a member on the Dean’s Student Collaboration Board and served as the finance vice president of her sorority Alpha Delta Pi.

Swardh attributes the MBA Programs office for helping her grow as a person.  She said she took pride in her work and could “see the impact I had on the students and faculty in the program.” She said that this wasn’t true of all student workers on campus and appreciated that the MBA office trusted her with meaningful work. Swardh said she learned important communication skills and gained confidence in herself. “The full-time staff truly invest in their workers,” Swardh said. “You don’t see that in a lot of jobs, and it’s helped me a lot.”

Ashley Perone, a junior with a double major in marketing and information systems, left the MBA Programs on April 30 to start her internship at the Hershey Company as a category management intern. Perone’s position in the MBA office was a MBA support specialist. She worked under Lindsey Steiger, assistant director of the fulltime MBA. Perone assisted in coordinating event planning and supporting MBA staff. She also is involved on campus through the Walton Honors Program and is vice president of philanthropy and community for Zeta Tau Alpha.

Chrissy Matlock, a junior supply chain major with an economics minor, left the MBA program on April 13 to start her internship the Hershey Company as a supply chain intern- Walmart replenishment. Matlock was a decision support help specialist for the MBA office and assisted Aditi Kar, the assistant director of the Executive MBA. Matlock also plays the saxophone in the University of Arkansas marching band and is a section leader for the Hog Wild Band.

Matlock attributes the encouraging culture of the MBA office to her professional development. “My role as a student worker gave me the confidence and skills that helped me achieve my internship. I could have never learned these skills in a classroom,” she said. “It was incredible to work in an office setting, and everyone knows I’m a student and I’m still learning. My adviser always gave me good advice and wanted to help me grow as a professional.”

We are grateful to our former student workers and the time they spent assisting the MBA Programs office.