Kingston Fresh Idaho Fries Help Elevate Kuwait

In Other Words

"Yara Slaton and Hakeem Muhamad of the Boise State College of Business were the perfect intern team for Kinston. They were educated, prepared, professional, energetic, enthusiastic and fun and showed tremendous initiative and leadership ability. They did not hesitate to take on any challenge that came there way.”

Challenge & Solution

From August through November of 2014 the team, including Nick Proia of Kingston and DEC Coaches Hilary Dovey and Gerd Uitdewilligen of PakSense (now Emerson), created a plan to export Idaho potatoes to Kuwait for the Elevation Burger Chain. The team earned “best in class” honors in part for its final presentation which included a Middle East-themed lunch at Life’s Kitchen that featured an Idaho twist of Kingston Fresh Fries. Though there will be bigger things ahead for Slaton and Muhamad, they stepped to the graduation podium knowing that consumers in Kuwait were enjoying crisp, fresh-cut fries thanks, in part, to their Export Excellence efforts.

Yara Slaton of Boise, Idaho was the Boise State University spring Commencement 2015 student speaker. Slaton graduated with a degree in international business and a minor in Arabic studies. Her extraordinary academic record, combined with her natural leadership when representing Boise State on campus and abroad, impressed her professors, peers and the international business community alike. During her tenure at Boise State, Slaton was elected the secretary of the International Business Organization. She was selected to participate in the Export Excellence Program, where she was awarded “Best In Class,” and was a member of the Global Scholars Program. She credits her time at Boise State and her fellow international, non-traditional students for preparing her for an ambitious career path.