Several students from the elite FIU Business Global Business Ambassadors (GBA) program got an exclusive look behind the scenes at the headquarters of logistics company Interport this month. The corporation has offices in Los Angeles, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire.
The tour underscores the mission of the GBA program, which is to connect students with business leaders for future careers, and bolsters the college’s undergraduate international business program, which is ranked No. 2 by U.S. News & World Report.
“We believe that if we don't get involved with education, we can't expect employees to learn what we need,” said Gary Goldfarb, chief strategy officer at Interport. “So we've taken the liberty of asking to be involved, and nobody said no yet.”
Goldfarb, who is the current chairman of the World Trade Center Miami and sits on the board of the FIU Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy, says logistics is one of the most complex industries in Miami-Dade County, and also offer tremendous job opportunities.
Students take a tour of the warehouse facility at Interport.
For students, it was crucial to get a first-hand look at the business operations which really does abide by the adage, “time is money.” Shipments need to move like clockwork or risk incurring fees and fines for any delays or missteps. Interport, which offers freight forwarding, customer brokerage and distribution throughout the world, is now also expanding into e-commerce and business-to-consumer (B2C) fulfillment, adding to the logistical choreography of their enterprise.
“It was interesting to see just how everything is all interconnected, you really have to understand how a business works from all of the angles,” said Sofia Nava, senior in the international business program. “For me, something that I want to take away from the Global Business Ambassadors Program is I want to be able to think like a CEO, and in order to do that, you have to understand how the whole business operation works.”
After getting a rundown of the entire international operation from the heads of customer service and pricing, the students were led through the expansive warehouse, which featured state-of-the-art equipment and the latest technology, including artificial intelligence (AI).
For GBA member Mariacarmen Barraza, Interport is where she landed her paid internship for the upcoming summer.
“I recently joined the program and we've been invited to several events and tours, getting to know more companies,” said Barraza, a sophomore in the international business program. “Getting on the path of what we want to pursue, especially as an international student, also gives us a lot of clarity.”
Barraza credits the GBA program with helping her land the job at Interport, thanks to the mentorship offered by Jerry Haar, professor of international business, and the connections she’s made through the GBA program.
Getting to tour the facility as a student also offered Barraza a new perspective on her future role at the company.
“I actually got to see new things throughout, and understand the outside of the company as well,” said Barraza. “It’s really nice to know the company on a deeper level.”