William Mokothu
University Towers - 356 South Forest Avenue -Tempe, AZ 85281
Phone: +1 656 392 67 54 - E-Mail: wmokothu@asu.edu
Mr. Edward Hoffner
Human Resources
Axia Group
Feb 10th 2014
Dear Mr. Hoffner,
My name is William Mokothu and I am writing to you to apply for the internship with Axia Group in
Cameroon which I saw advertised on the Africa Careers Network Website.
While growing up in Cameroon, I remember spending countless nights studying diligently under the
hurricane lamp before the petrol ran out. One day, as the sun was setting over the horizon, our
neighborhood stores ran out of petrol and I could not study any more. I thought of all the other people in
my community and country who were affected by this and wondered what it would be like to be part of a
team that could solve this problem? How could I raise awareness to the wider world that this is an issue?
These questions motivated me to pursue a career in the energy field.
After graduating from high school in Cameroon, I moved to the United States to seek an advanced
education, which could bring me closer to my goal of pursuing a long-term career in the oil and gas
sector. After a few years at a Community College in Arizona, I was awarded a scholarship from the
MasterCard Foundation to pursue my studies at Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State
University where I am currently in my penultimate year, majoring in Chemical Engineering.
I am looking for a summer internship in oil and gas in my home country to not only apply class
knowledge but to also gain valuable work experience. I am particularly attracted to Vitol not only because
you have a presence in my home country but also because of your position as one of the largest
independent energy trading groups in the world. I am particularly interested in exploration, development
or production of crude oil and gas.
As you can see from my CV, I have interned with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen)
where I was conducting research with a team on a key drug target known as TWEAK-Fn14; a target that
could prevent the spread of brain cancer. From this internship, I gained valuable experience which
includes research techniques, problem solving and data analysis skills that I could bring to your
organization. In addition, last summer I interned with Ecom Agroindustrial in Cameroon where I helped
to train cocoa farmers to improve the quality and productivity of their plantations and developed a system
to estimate production yields. Through this experience I learned to work efficiently in teams and was
given an insight into the workings of a large organization.
I am very excited about the possibility of interning with your organization and to be given the opportunity
to develop the skills necessary to give back to the young adults and their families who are still struggling
with having enough petrol/oil to survive.
Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing back from soon.
Sincerely,
William Mokothu