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.
Ansley Blanchard, class of 2024 honors marketing and business analytics double major, spent her summer as a marketing analytics intern at The Chemours Company.
Lerner: How did you find out about this internship? Why did you pursue it?
Blanchard: I first found a different internship with Chemours listed on Handshake. I found out about the role I ended up in after speaking with an employee who referred me to this job listing on their career site.
Lerner: What was the most exciting task or project that you completed?
Blanchard: Being a part of developing the B2B marketing strategy for a brand new product. I carried out market research, value chain analysis, value proposition positioning by market segment, and production of a marketing brief to further employee education and messaging consistency.
Lerner: What did you learn from the internship that you think you would not have learned elsewhere?
Blanchard: The unique opportunity to aid in creation of a marketing strategy plan from the very foundation was an invaluable experience.
Lerner: What is an example of a time where you were able to apply what you’ve learned at Lerner to your role?
Blanchard: I created reports and graphs showcasing KPIs for the new business venture using tools I learned in database management and data visualization courses.
Lerner: Did you face any challenges during your internship? If so, what was the issue and how did you overcome it?
Blanchard: Learning to manage degrees of ambiguity in my projects was a challenge I overcame during my time at Chemours. As “Managing Ambiguity” is a core competency of the company, I was especially challenged to ask exploratory questions and think creatively. Unlike in my experiences at UD, in the real world you rarely receive detailed step-by-step instructions, therefore adaptability is a valuable skill to learn.
Lerner: What are your career plans, and how do you think the internship will push you closer to your professional goals?
Blanchard: I am eagerly pursuing an MBA in data analytics following my undergrad graduation in May ‘24. My desired career path looking forward would be in data analytics/science in a role where I’m challenged to interpret and present my results to strengthen the business’ strategy.