CHICAGO, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- With the ever-growing competition to hire
and retain qualified talent, General Growth Properties, one of the country's
largest mall owners and developers, has created and instituted GGP Prodigies.
GGP Prodigies is an internship program designed to give college juniors and
seniors hands-on experience in the shopping center business, while creating a
talent pool for the company's 146 centers and regional offices.
"GGP Prodigies is an internship program designed to be a win-win for all
participants. On one hand, the college graduate who interns with GGP is
better prepared for the business world, having applied knowledge gained in the
classroom to real world situations," said Geri Brown, Vice President of GGP
Prodigies. "On the other hand, GGP attracts top students to join the pool of
employees from which the company can draw its talent."
The internship program was originally implemented at Broadway Mall in New
York through partnerships with 20 colleges. More than 25 students enrolled in
the program in less than two years. Geri Brown personally visited with
several career services departments at nationally known universities such as:
Michigan State University, University of Illinois, University of Florida,
Georgetown University, University of Texas at Arlington, University of
California, Georgia State, Cal State Fullerton, Long Island University and
George Washington University. Through these relationships, several interns
are currently being placed in GGP malls.
"GGP has made a concerted effort to structure each internship experience
to the individual student's area of interest, thereby creating a rewarding,
educationally relevant and enjoyable experience," said Professor Anthony T.
Barbera, Director of Intern Placement, School of Business, SUNY College of Old
Westbury, New York.
GGP Prodigies will continue to grow throughout the rest of the year
through partnerships with additional universities as well as through the GGP
corporate web page. Students will soon be able to enroll for an internship
online and be entered into the company database that will be utilized for
potential job placement.
"While interning for GGP, I was able to relate my classroom experience
with everyday business tactics and build an impressive portfolio that will
help me gain a competitive edge over my peers," said Alexandra Kaam, a college
senior who participated in the internship pilot program and is presently
interviewing with GGP for a permanent position.
General Growth Properties, Inc. is one of the nation's largest shopping
center owners, managers and developers. GGP currently has ownership interest
in, or management responsibility for, a portfolio of 146 regional shopping
malls in 39 states. The company portfolio totals more than 125 million square
feet of retail space and includes over 15,000 retailers nationwide. A
publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), General Growth
Properties, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol
GGP. For more information General Growth Properties, visit the corporate web
site at http://www.generalgrowth.com .
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990208/CGM015 )
SOURCE General Growth Properties, Inc.
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.generalgrowth.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990208/CGM015
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 201-369-3467
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/110740.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 110740
CONTACT:
David Keating, Manager, Media and Consumer
Relations of General Growth Properties, Inc., 312-960-6325, fax,
312-960-5484
|
