For Brianna Le ’26, of Douglasville, Pennsylvania, living and interning in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, has allowed her to expand her professional skillset and rediscover her Vietnamese heritage.
“Over 50 years ago, both sides of my family fled Vietnam due to the Vietnam War. Before this internship, I had never travelled to Vietnam,” Le said. “This experience honors multiple generations in my family who have sacrificed so much for me to have a brighter future by supporting my education and encouraging me to go abroad for internships.”
Le, a double major in international business and management, is a B2B (business-to-business) sales intern for Binh Tay Import Export Joint Stock Company, more commonly known as the BITEX Corporation. BITEX is the official and exclusive distributor of CASIO calculators and PILOT luxury pens in Vietnam.
In her internship, Le supports the sales team in managing and expanding business-to-business relationships, and assists with English translation, sales activities, client communication and market analysis. Le has also presented to her colleagues on how to use artificial intelligence for data visualization and image quality processing.
She is currently working on a presentation about life in the United States to motivate Vietnamese students to study abroad.
“I will be presenting this to BITEX executives soon and seeking budget approval to continue with this initiative,” Le said. “It is intended as a promotional event for BITEX’s community development and will be used in the future as a sales product for future English-speaking centers within Vietnam.”
Created in 2006 to honor the late Eric Stein ’69, nearly 100 students in Susquehanna’s Sigmund Weis School of Business have traveled abroad to gain global business experience with expenses fully funded by the endowed Eric N. Stein Fund for International Experience.
At the close of Le’s Vietnam internship, she will have completed two international internships and traveled to three continents throughout her study abroad experiences. Her first international internship was completed in Barcelona, Spain, during her GO Long semester.
“With the support of Susquehanna University and the Sigmund Weis School of Business, these international internships have allowed me to gain intercultural awareness and a greater appreciation of global cultures,” Le said. “The complete immersion of this experience has allowed me to apply my coursework in professional settings and develop more empathy in my personal growth as I gain more understanding about cultural values.”
Le’s experience working in Vietnam has been quite different from what most employees experience in the United States. Her workday includes stretch breaks accompanied by relaxing music and nap breaks after lunch.
“Working and living in Vietnam has allowed me to experience vibrant Vietnamese culture firsthand,” Le said. “Getting to fully adapt to Vietnamese culture by connecting with locals daily and traveling to various cities has allowed me to reconnect with my heritage.”
After graduation, Le wants to pursue a career fostering economic cooperation and sustainable growth within business and non-profit environments.
