UA Students Visit Mattel World Headquarters in California

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A contingent of graduate students and staff from The University of Alabama’s Manderson Graduate School of Business paid a Halloween visit to the world headquarters of Mattel Inc. while in Los Angeles for the 2009 National Association of Women MBAs conference.

Mattel executives and UA representatives discussed MBA and undergraduate internship opportunities, as well as what it’s like working at Mattel, the producer of toys and brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price, and one of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

Trevor Spring, Beaver, W.Va., Opal Hammer, Pocatello, Idaho, Hilary Phillips, Helena, and Oanh Hoang, Hanoi, Vietnam, all first-year MBA students, attended the national conference and career fair.

UA staff accompanying the students included Dr. Denise McManus, associate professor of management information systems and NAWMBA adviser; Connie Chambers, coordinator of alumni and corporate relations for the MBA program, and Linda Johnson, director of employer development and relations for the Culverhouse College of Commerce satellite office of the Career Center.

“It was a fun environment, just as you would expect from a toy company,” said Johnson. “Toys lined the employees’ desks and work stations.”

The trip was scheduled exclusively for UA students thanks to Mattel’s network of University alumni.

Huey Wilson, vice president of human resources, is a UA graduate from the Culverhouse College of Commerce. He visited the Capstone this past September. Lauren Ambershadian is an alumnus from the College of Human and Environmental Sciences and works for Mattel as a recruiter and MBA internship coordinator.

Other Mattel executives who met with the group include Patrick Dey, vice president of IT operations, Philip Hodges, director of corporate staffing, and Danielle Walker, senior recruitment associate.