Imagine signing up for an internship and finding out that you were going to be working in the PATRIOT missile program for an internationally recognized defense company. That’s what Andrew Koen ’08 did during the last school year.

Koen, of Peabody, Mass., worked for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems International Operations as one of 33 PC students taking part in the Executive Career Mentor Program, a mentoring initiative which connects PC students with top business executives and other senior professionals in various areas for career information meetings, a shadowing experience, a networking reception, and ongoing guidance on career discernment and development.

After the successes of the pilot program in 2006-07, the College’s Providence President’s Council has expanded the program to include a total of 33 executive career mentor volunteers involved in the 2007-08 program.

This is an increase of 14 mentors, whose careers include banking, business fields, law, publishing, and sports broadcasting. The first 19 mentors joined the program in 2006-07.

The President’s Council, the primary external advisory body to the PC president and administration, includes top business executives, other community leaders, and emerging leaders from PC’s younger alumni.

The council’s Executive Career Mentor Program, which is overseen by the Office of Career Services, pairs PC juniors with mentor volunteers for the three-semester, career-building relationship. While all of the 19 first-year mentor/mentee pairs took part in the core components of the program, several reported unique experiences which helped the students get a head start in pursuing employment.

Seven internships—some paid—resulted from mentoring experiences and took place at Delta Dental, KPMG, Raytheon, Riparian Partners, and the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority.

Two students spoke about their intern­ships at the fall President’s Council meeting.

Koen is exploring the real-world applications of his management major and finance major with his mentor, CAPT Peter R. Smith, USN (Ret.) ’68. Smith is the director of international naval programs for Raytheon Company, Raytheon Marine High Seas, in Portsmouth, R.I.

This past summer, Koen was an intern for Raytheon in support of the Japan Program Management Office. His responsibilities included supporting Japan HAWK and PATRIOT missile program managers in the areas of business development, contracts, finance, and integrated supply chain. He learned the technical aspects of the PATRIOT missile and collaborated with a Turkish company, MilSOFT, to create the Integrated Air Missile Defense picture of the Republic of Turkey.

“My mentor went above and beyond his duties to make sure that I had a great opportunity to learn and grow in the defense industry,” said Koen. “Also, a lot of time and effort was put in by my supervisors to make sure I got the most out of this experience.”

Fellow senior Cullen Beatty of Sudbury, Mass., also a management major and finance minor, is being mentored by Brendan VanDeventer, a partner in Riparian Partners, Ltd., an investment banking firm in Providence, R.I. As a result, Beatty served an internship this past summer at Riparian as a junior investment banking analyst, and is serving there again this fall.

Beatty’s internship exposed him “to a wide array of projects and capital market transactions,” he explained. “I assisted in the preparation of an offering memorandum, helped perform and manage necessary due diligence, and researched comparable market multiples for input into dynamic financial models to reach valuation conclusions.”

Beatty also networked with Rhode Island executives, corporate attorneys, and small business owners. “Through my experiences in the mentoring program I came to fully understand just how fortunate I was to be selected as a participant,” he said.