Student Spotlight – Marlene van Mourik

Marlene feeding a calf on her family farm in Hovborg, Denmark

One of the best things about the Texas Panhandle is the people. There is a general sense of pride with being open and hospitable and being there for people when needed. That is a big part of Marlene van Mourik’s story at WT.

One of Marlene’s favorite jobs growing up on her family’s farm raising dairy cows is helping feed the calves early every morning.  It is a quiet time of day and she has fond memories of talking about life with her Dad while giving the calves milk. This is a picturesque view of Texas Panhandle life, with the subtle twist of being in Hovborg, Denmark. This similarity and the hospitality of the people made Marlene’s transition to Texas a little easier. Marlene has found a great group of people that constantly offer to provide a home-cooked meal and open their home during holidays when she’s not able to go back to Denmark to be with family.

blank

blank

“The people are what makes the Texas Panhandle unique – we may not be near beaches or mountains but that’s okay, the people are worth it.”

– Marlene van Mourik

While attending WT, Marlene has had a wealth of successes and highlights that would make anyone proud. Some of Marlene’s WT highlights came over the last three years while on the WT women’s soccer team. Wearing Number 6, she has had a strong career with 55 starts, 11 goals, and 14 assists (the assists being the 9thmost in WT program history). In 2018, she scored the game-winning penalty kick against Dallas Baptist at their regional championship game to bring home the first regional title since 2009. All this came from extreme dedication and hard work.

Marlene with family friends, Sherry & James Wester, Alan Rhodes, and Steve & Kathy Cornett

Video produced by Media Minds, a Student Organization in the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business. For more information about Media Minds, e-mail Dr. Heidi Huntington or call 806-651-2765.

Marlene with friend, Trevor Fleeman, at the Spring 2019 Engler College of Business Student Symposium

Off the field, Marlene is studying to earn a bachelor’s degree in Management and Marketing (currently at a 4.0) and has had several notable achievements such as being a Rogers Lead WT Scholaran officer of SHRM, and the President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. During her time as a Lead Scholar, Marlene noted that her favorite experience was helping plan Buff Branding for incoming Freshmen.  Through her individual and the team’s combined efforts, the Lead Scholars were able to help the new students feel more comfortable in their unfamiliar home at WT. It is no surprise that the “rising tide raises all ships” mentality of the soccer field transitions into the collegial atmosphere as well.

As an international student, finding an internship in the United States was difficult due to VISA limitations. She turned her attention toward Denmark, but finding a summer internship there is difficult as well, due to most internships in Denmark occurring during long semesters. Not losing hope, Marlene completed 120 applications and sent 160 e-mails to Danish subsidiaries in the U.S. and finally landed an internship at Growthwheel International in Copenhagen, Denmark. She worked in Marketing Communications Support and helped produce content for social media, translate marketing materials from English to Danish and Norwegian, and ran e-mail campaigns. True to form, Marlene proved herself and was formally offered a student position after just a few weeks, but given that she wanted to complete her degree at WT, she was unable to accept.

Marlene at Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark

After graduation in December 2019, Marlene plans to travel in the spring with her younger brother. They plan to visit Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Asia.  Once they return home, Marlene will help out on the farm and start applying for Graduate School in Denmark.  Her dream school is Copenhagen Business School where she wants to pursue a degree in Business Development and Innovation.  After graduate school, she would like to start her own business and given her work ethic, her team mentality, and her ability to achieve at the highest levels, she is sure to be successful.

For more information about Undergraduate Programs in the Engler College of Business, contact COBundergrad@wtamu.edu or 806-651-2525.