Global Perspective Leads to Position at Honeywell: Khenda McIntee ’19 BSBA (Marketing and MIS)

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Student’s Global Perspective Leads to Full-Time Position at Honeywell

Philippine-born Khenda McIntee ’19 BSBA (Marketing and MIS) spent part of her childhood in Guam and Singapore with her military family—and this global upbringing was her motivation for finding an internship that would take her overseas. Her first year at the University of Arizona, she landed an internship with London’s Time Magazine.

There, she did research, focusing on big data and social media channels, which combined her passions for marketing and technology. Her final project was a presentation on how the company could increase its follower base on social media.

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Khenda McIntee

Khenda McIntee ’19 BSBA (Marketing and MIS). Photo courtesy Khenda McIntee.

After her experience with Time, McIntee wanted even more of a global perspective, and she knew a business degree could get her there.

In 2016, she joined the Eller Global Business Association (EGBA) and the Eller Social Media Club (ESMC). After only a year of membership in both, she took on leadership roles, becoming the standing president of EGBA and vice president of external affairs of ESMC. She says: “I love being able to open the minds of my fellow club members to different global perspectives and aspects of business.”

McIntee also joined the Eller AdTeam’s competitive sector, which she was introduced to by Edward Ackerley, instructor of marketing, who advises the competition team. “I thought it’d be a great opportunity to design marketing communication plans for real companies,” she says.

She took her desire for the global perspective one step further during summer 2018, when she interned at Honeywell, a global tech solutions company, in Tempe, Arizona. McIntee admits it was no easy task: “I was in a completely different environment and I was taking on more tech roles than I had in the past,” she says. “I had to use new programs to create reports, which was very tough at first.”

“My boss really believed in me but was really busy, so I had to learn programs on my own,” she says. “It taught me to be confident in who I am and to speak up.” McIntee believes it was one of the best professional experiences she’s had: “It was a nice taste of being on my own in a corporate environment. After the internship, I think I can walk into any corporate environment and own it.”

McIntee earned a job offer from Honeywell working in the IT department. Her ultimate goal is to combine IT and marketing and one day become the CEO of a global tech company.

“As far as goals go, it’s up there as ambitious, but I will try,” she says.