Former Student Spotlight - Nick Paiva
After graduating with a degree in Wine and Viticulture, Business Concentration, and a minor in Global Politics from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, Nick Paiva knew he wanted to join the Peace Corps. He served two years as a volunteer in Panama. After his service, while earning a Master of Science in Foreign Service with an International Development concentration at Georgetown University, he interned with the U.S. Commercial Service’s Rural Export Center (REC) through the State Department’s Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) program, an eight-month internship for college-level, U.S. citizen students to work on projects of global importance.
During his time at the REC, Nick worked on many projects. He collaborated directly with companies through the product development process. Nick liked having a lot of responsibility as he felt he was always part of the action. He enjoyed that aspect of the internship. One RAISE project which stood out was a report for a grain company. After delivering the report, the company decided to act on some of the recommendations and established a business relationship with a wholesaler in South Korea.
Nick was able to gain experience in market research, emerging market business development, and website optimization which are transferrable skills in many industries. He believes the most transferrable skill was effective communication with clientele. After completing a report, he had to present information to the client and defend his market recommendations with credible sources and data.
After the internship, Nick joined the World Bank as a Short-Term Temporary consultant and afterward, he became a Junior Professional Logistics Officer with the United Nations World Food Programme based in the Chad country office. Nick questions if those opportunities would have been possible without his internship experiences as potential employers always asked him about his Rural Export Center experience.
He encourages other students to apply even if they are unsure about working in commerce in the future due to the skills they will gain and the team they will be joining. He credits the team (Director, Heather Ranck, Program Manager, Joshua Erickson, and the other interns) for making the experience for him. Nick said, “There is a team atmosphere at the REC. I always felt like the other team members would make the extra effort to help me out when I was overworked or falling behind on other responsibilities.”
When asked about his advice for future interns, Nick stated, “Be proactive and take initiative. The REC team gives you the opportunity to learn about a variety of industries and do some good for US rural-based small businesses. Take advantage of that!”