Ambassador Profile: Nathaniel Gardner

Interning at the Department of Commerce has been a rewarding experience not only from what I have learned by answering exporters’ questions but also from the staff in my office. Through this I have come to understand the exporting and trade process in a concrete and practical sense that has enhance my understanding of trade concepts and practices I had from coursework at university. The trade and exporting process involves multiple steps and requires patience and diligence on part of the importer and exporter. Beyond working with practical aspects of exporting I have also worked on various projects with the China Business Information Center (China BIC). These include website maintenance such as subtitling Chinese market brief videos so that they are compliant with federal regulations and creating a sitemap for the China BIC so that pages on the site are easier to find in lists results on search engines. In addition to this I have also made export volume data for China and India that was included in a presentation at a trade expo in Oklahoma City, OK. Furthermore, a fellow intern and I wrote and researched an article that will be published in an online trade journal for the infrastructure industry on China’s stimulus package and business opportunities that exist.

During the internship in Seattle I assisted the trade specialists in client file management, research projects and export development programs organized by the trade specialists. Research included trade leads and organizational contacts for companies interested in exporting building and construction materials and services to Africa. For possible Export Achievement Award recipients, I made a client list for each trade specialist for future reference. For a logistics trade delegation from Singapore I researched relevant trade and port statistics for Washington state as well as finding various company and trade association contacts for a networking event with this delegation.

Experience:

U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Commercial Service, Trade Information Center—Internship
Washington D.C.

U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Export Assistance Center
Seattle, Washington

Nsgard at u.washington.edu