Internship Blog Series: U.S. Commercial Service Export Assistance Center
My name is John “Jack” Rotticci and I am in my second semester studying a Master of Arts in Diplomacy and International Relations. I majored in international business during my undergraduate studies and was excited to continue learning about international trade as part of my specializations at Seton Hall’s School of Diplomacy, which are International Economics and Development, and Global Negotiation and Conflict Management. This semester, I am taking an internship course that provides both a look at the combination of knowledge and skills required to perform in the field of international trade, and more specifically, an up-close opportunity to explore the daily operations of a career in commercial advocacy.
My placement is with the U.S. Commercial Service Export Assistance Center, Northern New Jersey, commonly referred to as a USEAC, where a small staff of International Trade Specialists is responsible for assisting in and promoting exports by northern New Jersey manufacturers and service providers. Each International Trade Specialist is responsible for working with a certain group of industries. My role as an intern, or as we have taken to calling it in the office, an “international trade assistant,” is to support the trade specialists in their pursuit of this goal. This is a neat feature of the internship because it allows me to get an introduction and a feel for each industry. This is valuable knowledge as I have already found some industries that I am particularly interested in – and some that I am particularly uninterested in.
Another great feature of my internship at the NNJ USEAC is the group of professionals I work with. The small team environment means that, unlike many internships, I do not spend the day in the basement stapling reports or running for coffee. It can be a challenge because the team truly relies on every member, including me, the intern; however, the office environment makes me feel comfortable asking questions if I am unsure. Furthermore, I am given more responsibilties after I prove that I can handle them.
You will be asked to take on several projects and initiatives at this internship, each with different levels of priority and timelines. It is up to the intern to prioritize time to accomplish what is asked. I have thoroughly appreciated this autonomy as it has provided opportunities to prove my ability to both the team and to myself, to make mistakes and learn from them, to learn in the process of researching and completing a project.
One such type of project is event planning. As an intern at the NNJ USEAC, I helped to organize several informative trade promotion events. I was recently able to help on an Introduction to Exporting to Canada event. While this event was not directly a USEAC event, I worked with partner offices to ensure that the attendees had access to information about all of the assistance services available to them in their efforts to export.
I am also helping to organize an event held in cooperation with the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) that focuses on compliance with US export controls. As part of the planning process, I researched export controls and got a better grip on what the federal government is doing to ensure that rogue states cannot profit from illegal or sanctioned international trade.
I find this internship to be much more rewarding than others I have previously completed. This is largely due to the fact that I am treated as a team member as opposed to a temporary intern. The team is committed to ensuring that I am not only given the opportunity to contribute all that my ability will allow, but also, that the internship is actually serving as a learning experience and helping me to better understand the Commercial Service as a potential career path. I would enthusiastically encourage any student interested in international trade and commercial diplomacy to apply.
