This past 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.
Jack Ruble, class of 2023, sport management major with a minor in professional selling and sales management, spent his summer as a ticket sales intern with the Boston Celtics.
Lerner: How did you find out about this internship? Why did you pursue it?
Ruble: Working in professional sports was always a dream of mine, so I was constantly searching online for potential careers and internships ahead. I had a connection from my hometown and wanted to inquire about if they were looking at internship candidates. I was able to get two interviews with some of their hiring managers and luckily got the job, keeping me close to home for the summer.
Lerner: What did you learn from this internship that you think you would not have learned elsewhere?
Ruble: I became knowledgeable about all of their ticket sales products as well as learned about their ticketing system, Archtics. I was also fortunate enough to learn how to use two different customer relationship management systems such as Dynamics and Salesforce.
Lerner: What is the most exciting task or project that you have done or are currently doing in your role?
Ruble: The most exciting task I had was helping develop a theme night for the Celtic’s G league affiliate, the Maine Celtics. They planned on doing a graduation night, highlighting college and high school grads. The work I did will help them with a general outline of other theme nights as well.
Lerner: What is an example of a time where you were able to apply what you’ve learned at Lerner to your role?
Ruble: I was tasked with helping out with an NBA sales report on excel. I had to use several functions I learned in my management information systems classes to compute the totals.
Lerner: How do you think this internship will push you closer to your professional goals?
Ruble: I think this internship will provide me with a tremendous stepping stool, allowing me to use the connections and skills I obtained to help me land a job in pro sports.
Lerner: Did you face any challenges during your internship? If so, what was the issue and how did you overcome it?
Ruble: There were no overwhelming challenges, but at times I felt worried about failing. I learned to be more confident in my abilities and became more comfortable being independent.
Lerner: What are your career plans once your internship ends?
Ruble: I have to make a decision on whether or not I want to do grad school. If I do not plan on going right after senior year, then I will look to apply to several jobs. The Celtic’s seemed to like me and I would love to be back there.