BGSU senior Henry Tipping accepted a position with hardware giant Lowe's at its corporate headquarters outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. (BGSU photo / Craig Bell)

During his internship at Lowe’s, Henry Tipping found himself thrilled to go to work.

Tipping, a Bowling Green State University senior studying marketing in the Allen W. and Carol M Schmidthorst College of Business, assisted the company’s Golden Ticket initiative, an employee-appreciation effort in which 30 of the company’s locations received a special shipment that was unloaded by a regional distribution center while employees earned the night off and a special reception.

But there was a logistical hurdle: how could the company complete the task for a store in Alaska or Hawaii? Locations in both states do not receive standard truck shipments, but rather shipping containers due to their distance from the continental U.S.

Tipping, a native of nearby Toledo, found himself trying to clear hurdles to bring the appreciation to the corporation’s far-reaching locations – and having a blast in the process.

“It was the first year they had done it, and they put it on me,” Tipping said. “We had to figure how to get one container out of a port where we have 100 different containers, have it be the one with decorations inside and do all of this in a week period. A lot of meetings went into that one, but it was so much fun.

“They challenged me, and it worked out awesome.”

The company agreed.

Months later, Tipping formally accepted an offer to join the hardware giant as a store operations senior analyst at its corporate headquarters outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, securing his full-time career before his BGSU graduation day.

(Video by Justin Camuso-Stall '14 and Ben Boutwell '24)

BGSU, the Wall Street Journal’s top-ranked school for student experience among Ohio public universities, requires business students to complete 120 hours of an internship in one semester as part of their academic journey, often jumpstarting their careers while they are still undergraduates.

For Tipping, who worked two jobs during college, including one at a local Lowe’s store, the experience of completing an internship led directly to testing an idea with which he became familiar in his BGSU coursework: searching for employers based on values, not just a salary.

Public service has long been one of Tipping’s interests, and prior to starting the internship, he said he admired the company’s initiative to build and donate bunk beds to children in need – giving him a sense Lowe’s might be right for him.

“Instead of finding a role that matched the salary you wanted or the physical area you wanted, I think one of the big things I took from my classes and professors at BGSU was looking for a company that matches your personal values,” Tipping said. “That wasn’t something I had really thought about. I remember sitting in my business ethics course and seeing it was possible to match your values to the company you work for.

“When I saw them building bunk beds to donate, that was one of the things that made say, ’That’s a company I want to work for.’”

Among the top-flight business faculty at BGSU is executive-in-residence Miguel Alvarez, the retired president of O-I Americas, who served as a resource for Tipping as he sought a meaningful career after college.

Alvarez said he often encourages students to look for companies that match their principles, which Tipping took to heart through both his coursework and internship experience.

“Henry is very curious, very constant and very disciplined. He has this positive view on life and is just generally a great person,” Alvarez said. “I talked to Henry several times and I knew he had some reservations about leaving home, but at that age, you can take calculated risks. All the merit goes to Henry, who found a great fit where he can be successful.”

As a full-time professional, Tipping’s project-focused role will help the company’s stores run more efficiently, a position he gained largely because of a successful internship.

Tipping said he was able to put skills gained in BGSU classrooms into action in a corporate setting, which translated into a rewarding experience.

“In my classes here, I was learning how to present better, how to communicate or how to start a meeting, which were things I got to put into practice during my internship,” Tipping said. “I really think that put me ahead of a lot of other interns – I had those skills already in motion from my freshman year at BGSU.”

The company formally offered Tipping the role prior to his final semester on campus, allowing him peace of mind as he completes his degree.

“It’s been awesome to know I have something already lined up,” Tipping said. “Ever since I got the offer, it was like a breath of fresh air where I could just focus on school and everything I need for moving. I found somewhere I wanted to be, both physically and with a type of company like Lowe’s.”