Each summer, students from the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics gain valuable professional-level exposure through internships. This year, young scholars were able to traverse the complications of COVID-19 by pursuing an array of internships, externships and other professional development opportunities. Each profile of this series will detail a Lerner student’s experiences working remotely on business-oriented projects.
Josiah Hanson, a Class of 2023 finance and financial planning major with a minor in business analytics, spent his summer working as a business development intern for a small local business.
Q: What are you doing this summer to develop your readiness for your future career?
Hanson: Over the summer, I have been working as a business development intern for a local small business. I have been able to leverage problem-solving skills and technical skills to provide practical solutions to real problems. Also, I have been attending the Lerner Career Services Center’s biweekly webinars on professional and career development.
Q: How did the coronavirus response impact your summer plans?
Hanson: COVID-19 did not impact my summer plans that much because most of the work that I did this season was going to be remote regardless of the pandemic.
Q: What did you learn through this experience that you don’t think you would have learned anywhere else?
Hanson: Working as a business development intern, I was able to really work on being more concise, confident and clear in my communication. Oftentimes I had to speak and present information to business leaders so I had to make sure that the information was understandable and informative but also timely and succinct.
Q: What is an example of a time you were able to apply something you learned at Lerner to your efforts?
Hanson: Being that I did a lot of the back office and technical work, I was able to apply Microsoft Excel skills and other knowledge from MISY 160, which was a very beneficial course to me.
Q: What have you been doing this summer outside of professional development, just for you?
Hanson: I’ve spent time with friends (following safety guidelines) and have been reading a few books to help me with my personal development as well.