Latvian college students finishing off summer internships in Breckenridge

Two college students from Latvia, Karlis Mednis and Gustavs Vanags, have spent the last three months traveling across North Texas as part of their summer internship with Southwestern Advantage, a U.S.-based educational sales and leadership program. Their final stop has been the welcoming porches and streets of Breckenridge.

Vanags was in his third year of the program this year and is going into his senior year, and he recruited Mednis to join in over a phone call.

“It’s kind of funny. I was going to basketball practice with my teammate and a random number called me. And I was like, should I pick it up. And [my teammate] was like why not?” Mednis said. “And I picked it up, and he said, ‘Hello, my name is Gustavs, you probably don’t know me but I work at this company, Southwestern Advantage, and I wanted to tell you about an opportunity to come to America and sell books.’”

Initially skeptical, Mednis assumed the job involved selling fiction.

“I was like, no way I’m going to sacrifice my summer with friends and everything else and come to America to sell Harry Potter books,” he said. “Then I came to the first meeting and he showed me the books. And they’re actually educational books; since I took AP chemistry, math and biology in high school, I was like, wow, this could actually help me. And now I’m here.”

The internship began in June, with Mednis going to Vernon, Wichita Falls, Graham and Jacksboro before finishing up in Breckenridge. Vanags was in Olney, Seymour and Iowa Park, and drove out to Eastland and Cisco from Breckenridge. The pair have stayed with a host family in Breckenridge as well with other host families throughout their travels.

“We ask people, since it’s like an exchange program for us, could you host us for a few weeks?” Medinis said. “And I met one open-minded family who said sure. So we got a host family here in Breckenridge for the last week.”

Vangas added, “Mostly we were staying with the host family. They are really great people—Albert and Tracy. They hosted the same program students two years ago and they were like, yeah sure why not?”
The Southwestern Advantage program emphasizes personal growth as much as sales. While it helps the interns pay for their college tuition, it’s much more than that.

“I guess the reason why we actually do it, it’s not just to come here and sell books and make money,” Vanags said. “It’s not really the whole point of the program. I guess the bigger reason why we’re actually doing it is just to learn the skills and character you need for life.”

He added that a lot of college kids, like their classmates, work student jobs that don’t open up as many opportunities.

“You work with people and everything; you’re kind of meeting people all day long,” Vanags said. “And we get to meet thousands of people through the whole summer, and just get to build that discipline.”

Each day, the students go door-to-door, introducing themselves and sharing educational tools that range from early childhood learning to college prep.

“We just go and knock on the door and kind of introduce ourselves and tell them what we’re doing,” Vanags said. “And if people are interested, they let us in the house. Or sometimes, we sit on the porch with the people and show our books to people, explain what we do and where we come from.”

The pair reflected on what the program has done for its customers.

“The books actually help people. We’ve got so many testimonials of people saying that because of these books, my kids went to college and got into DI schools, ”Medinis said. “I had one mom…I stopped by and she bought the books like five years ago. She said because of the program, her daughter got into Texas Tech.”

Vangas added that many times they will stop by a house and the family recalls the Southwestern Company.
“They will be like, ‘Yeah we had this guy stop by five years ago,’ and sometimes kids will come out and pull out the books,” Vangas said. “You can see that they’re still using them after five years.”

The hospitality that they have encountered has been a highlight.

“There’s a saying in Texas that, you know, there’s a special southern hospitality,” Mednis said. “And you can really feel it. During hot days, you don’t have to ask for cold water. They are like, do you want water, Gatorade, and they just love to help out.”

While most interactions are positive, occasional skepticism arises.

“Sometimes we come to a door, we have an accent and the people haven’t seen us on Facebook or something, they’ll get sketched out,” Mednis said. “But honestly, once we get the chance to explain that we’re college kids from Europe and we sell educational books, everybody is pretty friendly. And the worst thing they say is no, we’re not interested. And then we just leave.”

Vangas shared a recent example: “I was knocking pretty late at like 9:00 and a dad came out. He was super sketched out, all defensive. Then I explained I’m a college student from Europe, I’m selling these educational tools. And he said not right now, but come back tomorrow.”

As their summer winds down, Mednis and Vanags reflect on the friendships, lessons and stories they’ll take back to Latvia.

“For me, it’s probably just the people, honestly,” Mednis said. “I feel like everyone is super friendly and kind. Most of the time, we’re from Europe and people are like, oh, that’s cool. It’s just very easy to talk to everybody and everybody is interested in us. We’re interested in the culture here.”

Mednis and Vanags will return home soon, carrying more than just books—they’ll carry the spirit of Texas hospitality and a summer of growth.