Malin Backlund just arrived in Dallas, Texas to start her five month internship with SACC-Texas. She will be living in Dallas but working as Marketing and Organizational Strategy Trainee for all of SACC-Texas.
What attracts you to Texas?
There is a very interesting business climate, both from a global and a national perspective.
In what way?
Because of the no state income tax system both national and global companies are attracted to Texas. The state seems to be relying on its history and is very traditional and conservative in many ways- at the same time as it seems to be open to new ideas and businesses. The international cross-cultural climate in Texas with different companies from all over the world side by side with the more traditional Texan companies attracts me. As a business and economics student it is very fortunate for me to be able to work as a trainee in Texas.
Malin is no stranger to working in non-profit structures; in 2006 she worked on the campaign to have now Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Centerpartiet party leader Annie Lööf elected into parliament. After that, Malin went on to work for the governmental entity dealing with high school education (Gymnasienämnden) in Jönköping for two years.
Malin grew up in a family with a great interest in politics; her father is a former long-term parliamentarian (Riksdagsman) for Centerpartiet who now works for Jönköping County Council (Landstinget). Her mother is a journalist who writes for well-established Swedish magazines such as Allers and Året Runt.
Have you ever thought of becoming a full-time politician?
Yes, I have. Primarily on a local level since I feel it is possible to have a big impact on that scale. Technical innovations connected to the environment is something I find interesting; not focusing on a car as the problem but on its fuel for instance.
Malin is from Visingsö; a small island in Sweden’s second largest lake Vättern. She moved out on her own already at 16 to attend high school in mainland Gränna since there is no high school on the island. Since then she has had stints studying and working in countries and cities such as India, Bangladesh and New York, but she has primarily been living in Stockholm. Malin is currently working on completing her Master in Business and Economics at the University of Stockholm, and is on track to graduate in 2015.
What would you like to do after you finish studying?
I would like to work with organizational issues. Organizational development would be a really interesting field to work in. My role with SACC-Texas will give me a great learning experience for my future career goals.
One of Malin’s main tasks will be to start up SACC Young Professional in Dallas; a section within SACC-Texas targeted at members under the age of 35. Keep an eye on our website and our Facebook and LinkedIn pages for more information!
Sophie Zatterstrom Gore, SACC-Texas