Student Profile: India Hester, C'2015

As a sales associate for Coca-Cola Refreshments, Vicki Palmer Scholar India Hester, C'2015, is busy learning important sales strategies that will prove helpful in her future career as an executive brand manager.

An international studies major with a double minor in Spanish and management and organization, Hester works in Houston, Texas, with sales associates and key account managers within the On-Premise division.

Working for hotels, restaurants, hospitals, schools and retail stores, Hester orders specific Coca-Cola products through sales merchandising optimization and the company's computer system. She also works with the marketing team to design advertisements for Coca-Cola accounts with bundle deals, and finds and creates new Coca-Cola accounts within the Houston area.

Last year, Hester was the only rising sophomore to receive a Coca-Cola Refreshments internship. She worked in the Coca-Cola corporate office in Pittsburgh, Pa., alongside  key account managers for large grocery stores. It was in this position that she became certified in the new sales merchandising optimization computer system, and created an eight-step guide for employees to use when utilizing SMO.