From McMaster Daily News

When commerce student Matt Eby entered the commerce internship program offered through the DeGroote School of Business, he had no idea it would land him a full-time position on the other side of the world.

Beginning his commerce undergraduate degree in 2002, it was in his third year as a student at DeGroote that Eby accepted a 16 month sales internship position with Research In Motion (RIM) in Waterloo, Ont. A position that in turn brought him to where he is today -- in Tokyo, Japan.

The commerce internship program was created in 1994 to complement DeGroote's focus on experiential education by allowing students to enhance their classroom learning with real world experience. Students venture into the workplace on an eight, 12 or 16 month paid placement with companies such as RIM, IBM, State Street, KPMG and GE Canada.

Eby explains, "I started at RIM as a sales co-ordinator on my internship and after eight months was hired full-time changing roles to be a carrier channel sales manager. After being in this position for a year, I then moved to Japan to become a global strategic account manager."

This was an opportunity of a lifetime that Eby could not pass up, and for the past 16 months, he has balanced work and school to complete the final 10 credits of his commerce degree. He will graduate from the School of Business this June, however he will not be attending the convocation ceremony on Monday, June 4 at 3 p.m. as he will still be in Tokyo.

Eby is a global strategic account manager for RIM and works with some of RIM's multinational customers in Japan.

While language barriers can be challenging, Eby's love for a global environment makes up for any obstacles.