Career-focused from the start: BGSU senior completes three internships in three years, with another lined up

The supply chain management major leveraged opportunities at the University to build a strong foundation of professional experience

Zara Berrios has big goals.

To achieve them, the Bowling Green State University senior has packed an incredible amount of learning and professional experience into her three years at the University.

In her final semester alone, Berrios is taking both undergraduate and master’s-level courses, interning part-time at O-I Glass, working an on-campus job and participating in several student organizations.

And that’s only a small snapshot of her experience at Bowling Green – one she said has been marked with incredible opportunities that have prepared her for what’s next.

“I would choose Bowling Green one thousand times over,” Berrios said. “It has been the best three years of my life. My experience and the people I’ve met along the way have truly been one of a kind.” 

(BGSU video/Noah Walters and Justin Camuso-Stall '14)

Berrios, from Berea, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, will graduate in May with a degree in business administration specializing in supply chain management and international business from the nationally recognized Schmidthorst College of Business.

She is on track to earn her MBA from Bowling Green in one year, meaning she’ll have completed two degrees in just four years.

Even before arriving at Bowling Green, Berrios was intentional about each step of her educational journey. She earned dozens of college credits in high school to accelerate her path to an undergraduate degree.

Once on campus, Berrios focused on academics, extracurricular involvement and career preparation – securing an internship each year across numerous disciplines to build a diverse portfolio of professional work.

Her first internship was in marketing at OverDrive, a global distributor of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and streaming videos. A procurement internship at Honda followed.

Still so early in her college career, Berrios said she learned concepts in that internship that she later covered in higher-level supply chain courses.

“It really was a phenomenal and unique experience to learn different aspects of supply chain in real-time and then reinforce that knowledge later in classes,” she said.

Berrios is currently a logistics intern at O-I Glass, one of the University’s gold-tier partners, where she completes a variety of tasks, including analyzing data, managing cost transfers, handling supplier billing and preparing customs documentation. 

In a full-circle moment, Berrios will return to Honda for an internship this summer before continuing her master’s program at BGSU in the fall.

Honda was among the first companies Berrios connected with at a BGSU networking event, where she ultimately decided to specialize in supply chain management. 

“In business, the number one thing you have is your network,” she said. “It’s so crucial to meet people, make connections and build relationships, and Bowling Green has done a fantastic job of creating those opportunities for students.

“Bowling Green has such a welcoming and nurturing environment and is a place where students have real access to opportunities.”