Come on and join your fellow man
In the navy
Come on people, and make a stand
In the navy 鈥�
The Village People鈥檚 heyday was well before Glenn Popovics鈥� time, but just as their classic disco tune suggests, the United States Navy wanted the 海角社区 junior as a new recruit.
Sort of.
Come May, Popovics, 21, a business management major from West Palm Beach, Fla., will serve his country and beef up his business acumen during a summer internship at the Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program in Orlando.
This highly competitive program connects college students with research and work experience at the Department of Navy laboratories, said Esteban Lopez, director of corporate and academic outreach at 海角社区, a nonprofit liberal arts school and America鈥檚 first accredited baccalaureate school to educate primarily students with learning disabilities, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences.
The Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program aims to 鈥減rovide a meaningful job experience to the students and can possible lead to employment within the Department of the Navy after graduation,鈥� he said.
Popovics joins a select group of 733 college interns.
鈥淗is kind demeanor, coupled with an insatiable drive for success, resulted in his successful bid for the [internship],鈥� Lopez said.
Popovics learned of the opportunity from Lopez.
Typically, the Navy seeks engineering students to man these positions, but this time business students also were among the Navy鈥檚 quarry.
The process involved an online application, an extensive background check, and a telephone interview.
鈥淢y grandfathers on both sides were in the Army,鈥� Popovics said. His maternal grandfather 鈥渨as a guard in Germany after World War II,鈥� and his paternal grandfather 鈥渉elped build the turrets during the war on the ships in the Panama Canal. I was really inspired by them, so I felt if I could get any job maybe get one that could help my country in any way.鈥�
Several weeks later, Popovics received an email notifying him that he鈥檇 made the cut.
Ecstatic falls well short of his reaction.
鈥淥h my God! Out of all the candidates, I was the one they chose. I felt honored. I was like, I now finally could do something to help my country,鈥� said Popovics, who carries a 3.9 G.P.A. 鈥淚鈥檝e helped people before, but now I could probably help the whole country, if I鈥檓 lucky. And it really made me feel proud and very fulfilled, like I could finally do something productive with my life.鈥�
The 10-week internship pays a $7,000 stipend. He鈥檒l work 40-hour weeks.
Popovics credits 海角社区 for preparing him to serve and compete in the business world.
In his business courses, he said, 鈥淭hey constantly do training exercises to build up teamwork and also leadership skills, especially in Dr. [Jamie] Fleming鈥檚 classes. He would do group projects to make sure we could work with other people and point out management tips that could help us improve upon our leadership skills. I think they鈥檙e very guiding and nurturing in that regard.鈥�
Down the line, Popovics figures the experience he gains from his time in the navy will serve him well.
鈥淓veryone loves people who serve their country鈥� he said, 鈥渟o if it doesn鈥檛 work there, I can definitely use it [the experience] as pointers when applying for other management positions.鈥�