UW-L students earn $500 scholarships working with local employer

A few University of Wisconsin-La Crosse students took home much more than a good grade for their final in the Integrated Core Program.

Ten left with $500 scholarships, courtesy of Reinhart Foodservice.

Their final project for the class, which teaches 30 students about Management, Finance and Marketing, simultaneously, was to work with a local business.

The students were asked to help it expand diversity in the company and improve employee engagement, as the company is bought out.

Alex White, a junior in the program, said working with Reinhart will help him immensely moving forward.

“We got that experience that typical students don’t get to have in education,” White said. “It’s not classroom setting, and you’re sitting down with a company with real problems looking for solutions.”

The class was divided into teams throughout the semester, and had two other projects prior to the final, including studying how successful a Sonic restaurant chain would be in La Crosse.

White said he could feel himself improving after each project.

“How well I could write a business report was a night and day difference by the end,” White said. “I also was more confident in my approach with Reinhart.”

Jeff Olson, senior finance director at Reinhart, said the college is a major source of where they seek employees.