Opening Opportunities at Home and Abroad

At Valparaiso University’s College of Business, you will find hundreds of young, aspiring professionals who are learning the skills they need to take on the challenges of tomorrow’s workforce. They are presented with countless opportunities to prepare for success in a career that they will love. James Baur ’22, an accounting & Asian studies double-major is living proof that at Valpo, you really can do it all.

“I came to Valpo because they offered a Japanese studies major. Many universities I applied to only offered minors, or a handful of classes for the language,” James says. “There are also so many ways to get involved that you’ll always find an organization you fit in with. It’s also very easy to create your own and bring something new to campus.”

 James had the opportunity to study abroad in Osaka, Japan during the spring semester of 2020. Unfortunately, the pandemic forced him to return home and finish the semester online, but regardless, he describes it as one of “the greatest experiences” of his life.

His desire to learn and explore did not end with his study abroad journey, James decided he wanted to gain real-world experience in the accounting world, and called upon the Center for Career and Professional Development in order to get in contact with a Valpo alum who could point him in the right direction.

“The alum that I spoke with helped reach out to someone from the KPMG Pittsburgh office,” Baur says. “From there, I went through the interviews and quickly found myself with a job that summer.”

Not only was James set up with a prestigious company, he was able to travel abroad once more and experience a completely different culture, while learning the skills he would later need in his career.

“I was an audit intern at KPMG Pittsburgh during summer 2022. I also got accepted to a global rotation program the firm offers where one month of the summer is spent working at KPMG in another country,” Baur says. “There were many locations in Europe and Australia but the one that looked the most interesting to me was Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The month I spent working at KPMG Malaysia was incredible. I got to learn about a culture that was entirely new to me, while also getting solid audit experience.”

Part of our mission at Valpo is creating unique learning opportunities for our students and promoting the building of community both on and off campus. And through this effort, James found an internship that was unique to Valpo as a result of networking with Valpo alums.

Through this exclusive internship experience, James developed his interpersonal and communication skills, as well as his written and verbal skills on account of constantly being mindful of clear communication while studying abroad. And his “inexperience” as a work professional was not a setback, because the position he was accepted into was meant to give him real-world experience while allowing for room to learn and adjust.

“I had never heard of another internship that sent largely untrained employees overseas to learn about their job. I was very surprised that such a thing even existed,” James says. “I consider myself extremely fortunate for being able to participate in it. Even other Big Four firms that I applied to did not seem to have a program like this.”

And one thing that is also unique to Valpo is our ability to consistently produce servant leaders who exceed expectations and shine beyond measure in their chosen fields. The lasting impact of internship experiences can help students find their calling and get to work on their future vocations.
“I was able to travel, learn a variety of new skills, and meet a lot of great people. The internship had me excited to see what else I would end up doing in my future career,” James says. “Actually, I received a full-time offer after the internship had concluded, which I accepted. Starting in January 2023, I will be working as an audit associate at KPMG Pittsburgh.”

James Baur ’22 was able to find the resources he needed to pursue a degree in a field that he is passionate about while experiencing the world through different perspectives, all the while finding the support and guidance he required to succeed. That’s the Valpo difference, and those are the opportunities that are afforded by the Valparaiso University College of Business.