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 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.
Our “My Summer Internship” series highlights these unique experiences, showcasing how students translated classroom knowledge into real-world success.
Julia Birchfield, Class of 2026 marketing, business analytics, and global enterprise management triple major, spent her summer as a CPG insights associate at Circana, on the Nestlé Account.
Lerner: How did you find out about this internship? Why did you pursue it?
Birchfield: I found out about this company through networking. I actually had no idea companies like this existed and the industry as a whole. Making meaningful connections in said company got my resume put to the top of the pile. As soon as I learned what the company did, I realized I had found the career I was truly passionate about.
Lerner: What was the most exciting task or project that you completed?
Birchfield: The most exciting project I worked on at Circana was a generational deep dive into consumer behavior. I analyzed how different life stages navigate the CPG space, both at an industry-wide level and specifically for Nestlé, pulling insights from massive datasets in Unify+. It pushed me to balance data analytics with storytelling – turning raw numbers into a narrative that explained not just what consumers were doing, but why. I got to present those findings to Nestlé executives, and the work was later shared more broadly across the account as a thought leadership piece. It was the kind of project that reminded me why I love consumer insights – because you can connect data back to real people and real decisions.
Lerner: What did you learn from the internship that you think you wouldn’t have learned elsewhere?
Birchfield: At Circana, I learned the power of data storytelling in a way I wouldn’t have anywhere else. Working with massive, complex CPG datasets, I saw firsthand how numbers alone don’t drive decisions – what matters is the ability to translate them into insights that resonate with a brand’s real challenges and opportunities. I learned to connect the dots between trends, categories, and consumer behavior, then communicate that in a way that was actionable for Nestlé executives. That experience didn’t just sharpen my analytical skills – it really sparked my passion for the CPG industry. I realized how exciting it is to take data and turn it into strategies that shape how consumers shop and engage with brands.
Lerner: What is an example of a time where you were able to apply what you’ve learned at Lerner to your role?
Birchfield: My triple major in marketing, global enterprise management, and business analytics really came together in my role at Circana. Marketing gave me the foundation to understand brand positioning and consumer behavior, business analytics gave me the tools to work with large datasets and uncover patterns, and global enterprise management helped me think about strategy at an international scale. Nestlé, being a global company, was the perfect intersection of those skills – I was able to apply market research techniques, dive into massive data sets through Unify+, and then translate those insights into stories that made sense in a competitive, international CPG context. It was exciting to see how all three areas I studied connected in a real-world role.
Lerner: Did you face any challenges during your internship? If so, what was the issue and how did you overcome it?
Birchfield: One challenge I faced at Circana was organizing and making sense of very large datasets in Unify+. At first, it was overwhelming because there were so many cuts of the data and different ways to approach it. I overcame that by breaking the project into smaller steps – starting with cleaning and structuring the data, then building frameworks to compare across generations. I also leaned on visualization and indexing to make the patterns clearer. That process not only helped me deliver the generational analysis project, but it taught me how to turn something that looked messy at first into a clear, compelling story for Nestlé executives.
Lerner: What are your career plans, and how do you think the internship will push you closer to your professional goals?
Birchfield: My career plan is to continue building my path in the CPG industry, specifically in consumer insights. I really enjoy working at the intersection of data and storytelling – digging into large datasets, uncovering patterns, and then translating them into insights that actually influence how brands connect with consumers. It’s something I truly love, and I see myself growing in roles where I can keep developing that skill set and eventually help shape broader strategies for CPG companies.