A Sweet Internship
Bryan Baralt, '04
Guess who's coming to class?
In Fall 2003, Bryan Baralt was a senior looking for an internship. Then, in Instructor Kevin Ann Kelsmark's Entrepreneurial Marketing class, he met guest speaker Clayton Christopher, '95, founder and CEO of Sweet Leaf Tea. Christopher talked about the company's beginnings - in a Beaumont warehouse with four cooking and garden hoses to fill bottles - and its current national marketing and distribution strategies. Baralt spoke with Christopher after class and again at the 2003 Austin City Limits Music Festival where Sweet Leaf Tea was a vendor. He had found his internship.
Movin' on up!
At first, he put together sample boxes for distributors and grocery buyers and identified festivals for Sweet Leaf Tea to sponsor. Eventually, he was conducting in-store surveys and making cold-call sales. "The best part was learning the ins and outs of the beverage industry from a start-up company's view," Baralt said. But he wasn't the only person benefiting.
When Baralt noticed that a local distributor was not keeping shelves stocked with Sweet Leaf Tea, he approached Christopher. Not long after, Sweet Leaf Tea switched to a more productive distributor — all because of Baralt.
And his boss took notice. He offered Baralt a full-time position after graduation. "We could have hired plenty of people with more experience," said Christopher. "But we felt that Bryan's personality, values and determination would be a great long-term fit at Sweet Leaf Tea."
From diploma to Denver .
In May, Baralt moved to Denver as regional sales manager to develop the New Mexico ,
Colorado and St. Louis markets. He continues to rely on skills he learned in the classroom at St. Edward's. "The most useful class I took at St. Edward's was Business Communication," he said. "Every time I write a business letter, I apply the material to my real-world work."
And he has high hopes for the future. "The best part of my job is working with people I respect who also have respect for me," he said. "My goal is to make the Colorado market just as successful as the Texas market."
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