"Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been interested in technology and computers and I've always loved Apple," says Emili Revis.
As a retailing major at the University of South Carolina, Revis' passions are coming together through an internship opportunity with the USC Apple® Authorized Campus Store, Gamecock iHub. The experience is bringing lessons to life and opening new doors for her career.
The Gamecock iHub Apple Authorized Campus Store has unique experiential learning at the heart of its business model — giving students the chance to run the store under guidance of experienced faculty and staff. Managed by USC's Department of Retailing, the store prepares students to lead in a tech-driven and ever-evolving retail industry.
Through the internship, Revis and her classmates work and learn under the direction of store manager Saundra Koesters and store director and faculty liaison Michael Watson. The students gain lessons in retail management, merchandising, team building, inventory and more — and practice each concept via real-world scenarios in the store.
The students also get specialized Apple product training and customer service training. The training gives participants access to the latest versions of products, apps and operating systems, helping students to become knowledgeable customer service and sales professionals.
"At the Gamecock iHub, we purposefully created a retail store that is also a learning hub. In this safe space we intentionally craft experiences in support of our interns and their passion," Watson says. "Emili is an example of how individual goals, when aligned with our store core values and purpose, serve to elevate learning and help the person not only meet their goals but exceed them."
Revis has excelled in her internship which led to her next level of training, the Apple Excellence program. The program encourages her to share her learnings with team members on new releases of Apple products.
The opportunity to gain career experience is what excited Revis coming into her internship at iHub, but she has found learning retail management from Koesters and Watson to be equally as valuable.
"She {Koesters} is such a humble and understanding boss, and I've learned so much from her. I feel like I'm spoiled now. Having her and Dr. Watson as managers is an experience like no other," Revis says. "I came in immediately wanting to do the Apple Excellence program, but Ms. Saundra said, 'Let's learn how to work in the store first: understand the inventory management, the planning and buying, all the logistics of running the store.' That came first and foremost because this is my retailing internship."
Revis' combined experience in learning all aspects of the business as well as applying lessons from her classes has paid off with another big opportunity. She applied for an Apple graduate internship program and was matched with a position working in Cork, Ireland.
"Just to get this far is absolutely amazing, and I know for a fact I would not have if it wasn't for the iHub," she says.
Gamecock iHub accepts applications for internships each semester.