Student Success Stories: Keon Last
Meet Keon Last, a senior studying supply chain management and economics. He is also earning a
certificate in data analytics. Keon is involved on campus through the Supply Chain Club.
Recently, Keon accepted a full-time offer post-graduation to become a management trainee at Cintas. He was able to land this opportunity by continuously putting his best foot forward and striving to push himself outside of his comfort zone. Over the course of the past year, Keon has learned that the vast majority of individuals complete their best work when 
they are uncomfortable. It is nearly impossible to grow, whether that be professionally, scholarly, or otherwise, without getting familiar with the unfamiliar. During his internship, Keon also learned just about as much about himself as he did from Cintas. “I discovered very quickly that I often got nervous and uncomfortable while presenting in front of my fellow peers.” “Given some encouragement and persistence, I was able to overcome this otherwise irrational fear and am much more confident as a direct result.”
Two courses that helped better prepare Keon for his internship experience were Business 240 (Professional Skills in Business) and MHR 381 (Quantitative Business Analysis, QBA). Business 240 did a great job outlining career expectations and putting emphasis on the importance that an internship has for professional development. Likewise, MHR 381 better prepared him to work within SAP by familiarizing him with many of the key Microsoft Excel functions.
Keon stated that one thing that drew him to Cintas as a student was the enthusiasm that they brought to the Business 240 course and beyond. As Keon dove deeper into researching an
internship, it was clear that Cintas had a proven track record of success within their industry. The idea of an operations internship also provided the opportunity to learn multiple key functions instead of focusing all of his time solely on one area of our business.
The best advice that Keon can give other UWO students about career development as an undergrad is to just be yourself. Confidence goes a long way, but if you want to separate yourself from the rest, be the best version of yourself at all times! Platform skills aside, Keon learned that without such great partners in all facets of our business, Cintas would never be able to operate at the level that we do each and every day. Above all, the Cintas family is truly invested in each and every partner’s development and success through and through!
In the coming weeks, watch for Career & Professional Development’s #TitansGetHired campaign!