Brett Tanaka, an intern with Rolls-Royce

Brett Tanaka is pursuing his Master of Business Administration degree at MSU with an emphasis in Operations and Supply Chain Management. Tanaka earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2012.  This summer he is completing a highly competitive internship with Rolls-Royce in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Tanaka’s official title is Supply Chain Planning and Control Intern with Defense Aerospace, Rolls-Royce North America. His responsibilities include providing direct support for special projects, master scheduling, and operations scheduling. Tanaka’s internship takes him inside a secure plant facility.  “Rolls-Royce is a power systems organization which provides power solutions for customers in civil aerospace, defense aerospace, marine and energy markets around the world. Lots of engines manufactured by Rolls-Royce are used in both commercial and defense applications for products made by Boeing,” states Tanaka.

Tanaka learned about this internship opportunity through LinkedIn and was flown to Indianapolis by Rolls-Royce during the spring semester for a final interview. “Maintaining a LinkedIn presence was crucial for me to secure this position,” Tanaka says. “I would recommend that other students are careful and don’t overlook this social media site as a place to find internships.”

On campus, Tanaka is active in the MSU MBA Association and MSU Graduate Student Senate.  He received the 2012-13 Outstanding MBA Student Award from the COB last spring. Tanaka is one of many COB students who represent what it means to think bigger and bolder.