This summer, students from the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics discovered new avenues for professional preparation and practical hands-on experience. Lerner College students pursued an array of remote, in person or hybrid internships, externships and other professional development opportunities. From MBA scholars to undergraduates entering their second year at UD, students across a spectrum of Lerner programs shared their experiences accomplishing an assortment of projects.
Each profile of our “My Summer Internship” series will provide a glimpse into one of these unique experiences and how students applied knowledge from their studies to be successful in the real-world.
Allie Rebuck, class of 2024 MIS and business analytics major, spent her summer as a sales intern with Ultimore Kronos Group (UKG).
Lerner: How did you find out about this internship? Why did you pursue it?
Rebuck: I found this internship through the Lerner Executive Mentoring Program. My mentor since freshman year, Chris Tommins, worked at UKG (recently retired) and connected me with the amazing talent acquisition team running the program. After learning more about the company values and industry, I was fascinated and motivated to pursue it.
Lerner: What was the most exciting task or project that you completed?
Rebuck: The most exciting project that I worked on related to the recent largest acquisition in UKG’s history, Immedis; in this project, I was able to create enablement materials that were shared with the entire sales organization to equip account representatives.
Lerner: What did you learn from the internship that you think you would not have learned elsewhere?
Rebuck: In my internship, I had the opportunity to interview dozens of seasoned account representatives across the organization. Leading discovery conversations with UKrewers who have decades of experience taught me how to 1) think critically on the spot to dig deeper into points of interest and 2) build rapport in conversations to improve the flow of the interviews. This project pushed me outside of my comfort zone and was not something I could learn as easily in the classroom.
Lerner: What is an example of a time where you were able to apply what you’ve learned at Lerner to your role?
Rebuck: Throughout the summer, I worked with an intern team to create five presentations that were shared with top leadership. My engaging public speaking class with Phil Pyle at Lerner helped me to be confident in delivering the presentations and receive encouraging feedback from the panel of judges.
Lerner: Did you face any challenges during your internship? If so, what was the issue and how did you overcome it?
Rebuck: My biggest challenge throughout my internship was time management throughout my main project which required interviewing account representatives and writing win story summaries from the interviews. As an analytics major, writing is not my strength, and so it took a lot of time and mental energy to work through writing the summaries. There were concerns about me making enough progress on the project prior to the summer ending. However, through setting daily goals and time blocking, I was able to exceed expectations for output and was offered the opportunity to extend my internship into the school year!
Lerner: What are your career plans, and how do you think the internship will push you closer to your professional goals?
Rebuck: While my career plans are not yet solidified, this internship has given me insight into how technology sales operate and has inspired me to work for a company which has strong values that align with mine. As I search for a full-time role, I will utilize the skills – technical and interpersonal – that I learned, and am empowered to take on a role that will challenge me, as this internship did.