Business student lands Amazon internship, encourages peers to kickstart their careers  

After landing two competitive internships at high-level companies, Liberty University student Evan Shock aims to help other students in the School of Business prepare for their careers. 

Shock, a junior studying business administration with a focus on sales management and project selling, completed his first internship last summer working in the sales department for NetSuite, owned by Oracle.  

“It was really cool to see how that was a startup company and I got to learn that startup culture, starting from nothing and becoming a company,” Shock said. “It was then bought out by Oracle (in 2016), which is (one of) the largest software companies in the country. So, I got to learn big software and I got to learn small startup culture.” 

The position led to a year-round job offer, which Shock declined due to time commitments during the school year, including as a member of Liberty’s lacrosse team. 

This upcoming summer, Shock has accepted a project-based sales internship working in Washington, D.C., for Amazon, the company he said is at the top of his “dream list.” Noting that this internship is one of the most competitive for sales majors to obtain, he stated that in the past it has typically accepted one hundred interns from 10,000 applicants and may have selected even fewer interns this year.   

“I’m pumped. This is one that I’ve worked for 10 months of nurturing different connections and reaching out to them and keeping a good close relationship,” Shock said. “Then, once the internship opened up, they were more than willing to help me.” 

One connection was with a Liberty alumna who works in the nonprofit section of Amazon. The employee provided him a strong reference as well as a solid recommendation to those in charge of the internship program. 

Shock said making connections comes down to the individual’s level of effort.  

“My honest belief is that anybody at Liberty can work at any company,” Shock said. “It’s a domino effect. You just have to push that first domino over and take that first step or send that first message, or even send that first email. That right there helps push forward and that already makes you stand out among people. … You’ve built a friendship with somebody and you’ve built a connection with somebody, and that can help you get a job.” 

As he prepares for this summer internship, he claimed that he expects to use some of the communication skills he has gained in his academic studies, such as persuasion, interpersonal communication, and public speaking, in his new role. He also plans to use business skills such as market research to support Amazon.  

Shock recently gave a presentation on obtaining internships during a seminar hosted by the School of Business. During the seminar, Shock shared with his peers about creating resumes and cover letters as well as how to connect with potential employers. 

“I’ve also spent hundreds of hours succeeding and failing, sending a message (to someone high up in a company) after not looking it over enough, and it sounded really dumb. For me, it was good and I’m happy I went through that trial, but if I can help other people not have to spend that much time and make their lives easier, it can help them find success,” Shock said. 

“The people I’ve met at Liberty are the greatest people I’ve ever met in my life,” he added. “I can’t say a bad thing about Liberty. It’s my favorite place, so I would love to see this college be elevated and just to see good Christian people get good jobs and succeed. They can give back to the school and that just makes the school better, makes the Christian community better, and it helps spread the Gospel.” 

Despite competing as a student-athlete, Shock still places a stronger emphasis on his career aspirations because he said they will remain long after graduation. 

“As much as I love lacrosse and I’m going to give my all while it’s there, I still put priorities on the things that are going to be longer lasting, like my relationship with the Lord, school, work, everything else. That stuff should be above lacrosse,” he said, noting that Head Coach Kyle McQuillan emphasizes that players should place schoolwork above athletic success. 

“Evan is a bright kid,” McQuillan said of Shock. “He is super diligent, a hard worker, and has a lot going for him, with a great future ahead of him.” 

Liberty University Career Services provides multiple resources to assist students in securing an internship. Students can meet with industry specific career coaches, attend internship search workshop trainings, visit career fairs, and use Handshake to explore other opportunities. The Washington (D.C.) Fellowship offers an exciting internship experience in the nation’s capital. Visit Liberty.edu/Careers.