Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc. (UNITED) is seeking applicants for the 2022 class of its Pay It Forward internship program, a week-long experience in which African American college students celebrate their achievements, further their success and earn a $2,000 stipend.

Students ages 18 and older who attend one of the 16 historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in Coca-Cola UNITED’s six-state footprint are encouraged to submit applications beginning Jan. 31, 2022, through April 3, 2022. Students must be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate at a participating HBCU to apply. Coca-Cola UNITED’s 16 partner HBCUs are:

Alabama State University, Albany State University, Alcorn State University, Clark Atlanta University, Dillard University, Fort Valley State University, Grambling State University, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Southern University, Spelman College, Stillman College, Talladega College, Tuskegee University and Xavier University of Louisiana

In 2015, Coca-Cola UNITED teams in Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama established Pay It Forward to provide African American youth opportunities to succeed. Since that time, more than 100 students have participated in the program, including Tiana Thomas, a Southern University alumna and 2020 Pay It Forward graduate who was recently hired as a business development trainee for Coca-Cola UNITED.

Pay It Forward offers students first-hand experience in a range of roles at Coca-Cola UNITED, including sales, packaging, production, marketing, pricing, event planning, philanthropy and community relations. Students will engage with various departments to learn more about the organization and how to conduct business most effectively during a fun and informative development session to be held late summer 2022.

Students are reviewed and selected based on their completed applications. An increased $2,000 stipend will be awarded to each of the students at the end of the program, as well as a lifetime of Coca-Cola Brand Ambassadorship.

One of the main goals of Pay It Forward is to teach the students, to put it simply, how to go to work. The program immerses them in the facets of the business, and teaches them how to network with others and other important skills that will prepare them for the job market.

“We are focused on mentoring and supporting the best students in the southeast through our company’s Pay It Forward program. Interns will have the outstanding opportunity to gain quantifiable business skills,” said John Sherman, Coca-Cola UNITED president and CEO. .“Our team is excited about interacting and developing the talents of these young adults by inspiring their ambitions as they begin their bright careers, hopefully at Coca-Cola.”

For more information and application details on the annual “Pay It Forward” student opportunity, visit www.cocacolaunited. com