Norwalk Resident Named Intern of the Month at Ashland University

2016 May 2

Norwalk resident Brandon Bleile, a sophomore at Ashland University majoring in Business Management with a minor in Finance, was named Ashland University's April Intern of the Month while interning as an assistant supervisor and associate at R.S. Hanline since June of 2014.

During this time, Bleile has had the opportunity to act as a full-time employee and serve in a variety of roles, which will undoubtedly set him up for success after graduation. He has shown dedication, passion and commitment to his internship site and his future.

Bleile has spent countless hours rotating around the various departments at R.S. Hanline learning the details and intricacies that go into each position. He has gained experience with their accounting and finance departments working with spreadsheets, pay statements and data entry.

His other duties included analyzing financial statements in their sales department and through their human resources department. Through these rotations, Bleile says he now has a much better understanding and appreciation for each person's role in a larger corporation.

Bleile said he has grown and learned more than he ever expected by being at R.S. Hanline. His advice for other students is, "One of my best tidbits of advice would be to get started as soon as possible. The opportunities are here, but the rewards do not come to you unless you take that first step. Initiative is one of the most important traits of becoming a successful person. My last and most important piece of advice is to continuously learn. There is something to be taught in every situation, even if that situation might not easily reveal itself."

Through his experience, he was given the opportunity to make a few sales calls and interact directly with customers and build those relationships. He landed multiple sales and learned that sales are truly what drive a business and is its means to success. Based on his performance, Bleile was hand selected by R.S. Hanline's CEO to accommodate him to several board meetings, factory tours and business dinners.

Bleile said he is very thankful that he started his internship experiences early in his college experience. He said he now has the ability to see where the company is heading in the future and is happy to have had a part in its success.

Bleile is a 2015 graduate of Norwalk High School.

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report's National Universities category for 2016, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. ###