While most internships present students with a unique perspective on their desired field and the chance to forge connections with other professionals, rarely do they become a life-changing experience. On occasions though, an internship comes that leads students down a life-changing road, whether to the job of their dreams, or, in Bill Lyons’ case, to Africa.

Lyons, a senior marketing major at Marist, spent his summer taking advantage of a unique internship opportunity in Kenya, Africa. Under the mentorship of his professor, Dr. Greg Sand, Lyons worked with GLOBALTEAM International Marketing Consultants, Inc., in an effort to improve the Kenyan distribution of several Coca-Cola Company products, including Dasani Water and Minute Maid Juice through South African Breweries (SABCO). For Lyons, the chance to work for such a good cause, in a unique international setting, was an opportunity to good to pass up.

“The opportunity to go was huge for me, huge for my resume, and a once in a lifetime international experience,” Lyons said. “International consulting is a great way to see the world, and experience different cultures. Dr. Sand teaches his class through his extensive world travel, showing us pictures and telling us stories. I have had him for two semesters and heard enough stories to realize that going to Kenya with him would be a very good decision on my part.”

While in Kenya, Lyons’ main mission was to work with the poor, vulnerable citizens of different regions, including Nairobi. He participated in an in-field marketing audit of Kenyan retail outlets, checking on the distribution of various beverage brands, the pricing of products and the availability of merchandising equipment, including racks, displays and coolers, often in stores that resembled shakes with dilapidated tin roofs. Not only did selling the Coca-Cola products bring pride to the African people, but the project also proved to Lyons how beneficial large companies can be to developing nations.

“Local people love Coca-Cola because of its American image and they love it because it provides jobs for some of the poorest people in the world,” Lyons stated. “I remember standing on the outskirts of a five-million person slum and there was a coke stand. Big businesses, while often portrayed to be bad, can be very helpful to developing countries. Government in Kenya and in many emerging nations is riddled with corruption, but if you look at Coca-Cola and other big businesses, you realize that you have companies creating a variety of different skill level jobs that will stay for as long the company does. Probably [for] life.”

To culminate his internship, Lyons prepared a presentation to a sales team of over 200 personnel from South African Breweries. With the help of Dr. Sand, Lyons led five training sessions for the company, training marketing and sales managers, sales supervisors, sales representatives and merchandisers, ensuring that the repercussions of his internship and time spent in Africa would benefit the people of Kenya for years to come.