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On any given afternoon, you can find 91���� University students enjoying a cup of coffee and catching up on homework at .

Trent Dagan ’25 and Kimi Vidinha ’27 are among those students, but their assignment is working with Telvet’s owner on bringing more people through the door of the shop located on Cedar Street adjacent to 91����’s Forest Grove Campus.

Dagan and Vidinha are among the first 10 91���� undergraduate business majors taking part in an innovative internship program that links students with local businesses to analyze and transform their digital presence.

Funded by a $525,000 , the “Empowering Communities Through Student Leadership & Technology Integration” program pairs teams of three to four students with local business owners for an in-depth look at their digital presences. The partnerships provide a unique experiential learning opportunity for 91���� business students while positively impacting the local business community. 

Working off of Dagan’s laptop screen at a recent meeting, Telvet owner KC Nguyen reviewed a spreadsheet detailing a 12-month social media plan designed to increase its presence on Facebook and Instagram. Nguyen nodded approvingly over the plans for graphics celebrating holidays, advertising specials, and posts celebrating their staff.

For Nguyen, who estimates that 25% of his customers come from the university, the tools that the partnership has developed provide Telvet with great business potential.

“We’re such a small place that it is not worth it for me to pay for something like this. It is too pricy,” Nguyen said. “They’re creating a plan and content templates for 12 months. In terms of marketing, it’s going to help me out a lot.”

Student teams worked with three local businesses for a 10-week period during the Spring 2025 semester: Telvet, , an upstart brewer in Beaverton, and the professional baseball team on varying parts of each company’s digital presence.

For Team Telvet, comprised of Dagan, Vidinha and Anna Emerson ’26, the focus was on increasing return on investment on Telvet’s social media platforms and designing a new website capable of taking online orders. The Binary Brewing team focused on a new website, text marketing campaign and social media management, while the Hillsboro Hops team was charged was revamping the team’s “High School Takeover” program.

Ivette Heredia '17, the director of 91����’s grant program, said that the inaugural cohort of students has demonstrated success in the experiential learning experience and in making a difference for the businesses that participate.

“Internships like this are an extension of 91����’s classroom by allowing students to apply their academic knowledge in practical, real-world settings,” Heredia said. “Students are challenged in ways that expose the professional environments they will encounter after graduation. These experiences build both competence and confidence, helping students become more employment-ready and competitive in the job market.”

In addition to social media planning, Team Telvet’s work included the development of a new website through Square, allowing customers to order food and drinks online for pickup at the store. , a Hillsboro Latinx-owned and operated marketing firm and partner in the grant program, developed the website and provided analysis tools to aid students in their work.

The new website, launched on April 23, has already increased walk-in pick-up orders. The social media calendar has realized significantly increased post interactions and reach, specifically through Instagram, which has brought new customers through the door. Nguyen said that the changes all have positive trends for his business.

“The a-ha moment has been all of the promotions they’re doing and creating for me. They have a (social media) template where all that I will need to do is go in and post,” said Nguyen, who admits that he does not use social media often. “In terms of marketing, that is the big part.”

Being part of Telvet’s demographic and frequent social media consumers put the project right in the students’ wheelhouse. “I feel like it definitely helped to be part of their target audience,” Vidinha said, “especially when talking about which platforms we were going to use and what we were going to connect with.” 

While the partnership is paying off for Telvet in revenue, it is paying off for Dagan and Vidinha in experience. A business administration major with an emphasis in marketing and management, Dagan said that the internship has provided lessons and work experience that has turned the theoretical into reality.

“I’ve sat in management and marketing classes, and I have had another internship in marketing, but it wasn’t as real-world as this,” Dagan said. “I’ve learned how to communicate with someone who has goals for their business and has a vision, and helping them achieve that vision has been the most valuable experience for me.” 

Vidinha, a business administration major with an emphasis in marketing, agreed. “In the classroom, you are kind of playing it safe,” she said. “For us, we have to be very conscious about what we’re doing because we are working with a real company. That’s a valuable experience. I’m privileged to have had this internship opportunity as a sophomore and to take that experience throughout my years at 91����.”

The internship program will continue through at least Summer 2026. Students and businesses have already been selected for the Summer 2025 program, but Heredia and Frank Roth, executive director for career readiness for business students, are identifying participants for future terms.

Nguyen can’t recommend the opportunity enough. It was some of the best money he never spent.

“I would definitely encourage people to do it, especially if you do not have an online presence,” he said. “It will increase your business. It will help them out tremendously.”