A casual conversation with a group of likeminded friends in the College of Business catapulted Fatima Chahine into action. She and the group recognized a need for representation within the university’s female COB population and sought out to launch Women in Business, a new student organization on campus. And this was just the start. “Once I created the organization, it opened a bunch of doors for me,” she says. “I was able to help all of these other students create their own network, but I was also creating a network for myself.” On campus, the Supply Chain Management major went on to work as a Supplemental Instructor for Financial Accounting, and outside of the classroom, she’s held internships at engineering and tech company Robert Bosch and Ford Motor Co. And in the fall, Chahine will begin her career as a core buyer at Ford. “Ultimately, my goals include working as an entrepreneur, getting involved in philanthropy and continuing as a female rights activist.”

Fatima, in her own words

On founding a new organization. “I started Women in Business because I felt like there wasn’t really a place for women to get tailored-to-them types of networking and professional development. A group of girls and I decided that we wanted to start this organization so that women could have a place to progress through their career within the university. It means a lot to me that we can all relate to each other and give each other advice. Having that professional network is super beneficial. Starting the organization was that first major step that I took to really, really make a statement on campus.”

On the accomplishment she’s proudest of. “Something that I’m particularly proud of doing is that I got this distinction of Beta Gamma Sigma, which is the international business honor society that only takes the top 10 percent of business students. Getting into that honor society proved that you can have your hand in a bunch of different things. You can be in student orgs and maintain that GPA at the same time, while pursuing internships on the side. UM-Dearborn allowed that experience to happen with flexible schedules.”

On internship preparation. “I had the opportunity to pursue a couple of different internships while I was at UM-Dearborn. Being in that real business environment, you are able to translate that information that you’ve learned in class into this real-world experience. Having those applicable skills makes you stand out when you go into future job interviews. From my internship at Bosch, where I was able to learn a lot of people skills, to my internship at Ford, where I was able to learn more about the actual supply chain, I know that I have the experience to back up my career. I was able to go into interviews really confident because I had all of these real-world experiences that made me a really strong candidate.”