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.
Ryan Daly, Class of 2027, business analytics and operations management double major, spent his summer as a project management intern at Sallie Mae.
Lerner: How did you find out about this internship? Why did you pursue it?
Daly: I saw this internship on Handshake, with the “UD Collection” tag. After reading the description, I thought it matched my skills and career goals well. As a college student, student loans are a big topic of conversation, so I was interested in growing my project management skills while learning about the business of student loans.
Lerner: What was the most exciting task or project that you completed?
Daly: The most exciting project was serving as the Project Manager for the Payment Risk Metrics Initiative within the Business Transformation Office. I took full ownership of the project support activities by creating and maintaining a project plan throughout the entire project lifecycle, developing weekly status reports for leadership, organizing and leading team meetings to keep us driving toward our goals, and designing a Power BI dashboard to clearly visualize and track our key metrics. Guiding a project from initial planning to delivery while keeping cross functional teams focused on critical risk metrics was an incredible experience.
Lerner: What did you learn from the internship that you think you wouldn’t have learned elsewhere?
Daly: I gained a real-world understanding of how project management and business transformation actually work in a large company. In school, projects usually come with clear instructions and clean data. At Sallie Mae, I had to learn how to adapt when project details constantly shifted, like when the specific metrics getting approved changed throughout the project lifecycle. Learning how to pivot quickly, update project plans, keep different teams on the same page, and use tools like OnePlan and Power BI was something I could only experience on the job.
Lerner: What is an example of a time where you were able to apply what you’ve learned at Lerner to your role?
Daly: My coursework in Operations Management and Business Analytics gave me the foundation I needed to succeed in the Business Transformation Office. At Lerner, I learned how to analyze processes, structure complex data, and use tools like Power BI and Excel to turn raw information into clear insights. I applied these exact skills when building the project dashboard and organizing metric definitions for the Payment Risk Metrics Initiative. Additionally, my experience as a Teaching Assistant for operations management helped me explain technical process concepts and communicate effectively with different cross functional stakeholders.
Lerner: Did you face any challenges during your internship? If so, what was the issue and how did you overcome it?
Daly: My biggest challenge was getting up to speed on all the new internal systems, corporate processes, and financial acronyms while the project requirements were actively shifting. I had to learn enterprise tools like OnePlan while keeping up with changing payment risk metric definitions. I overcame this by taking detailed notes, staying flexible as project goals evolved, and setting up 1-on-1 conversations with 30 different people across the company. Talking with team members across various departments helped me understand the business faster, ask questions, and keep our project plans aligned with shifting priorities.
Lerner: What are your career plans, and how do you think the internship will push you closer to your professional goals?
Daly: After graduating from the University of Delaware with my degree in Operations Management and Business Analytics, I plan to pursue a career in project management, process improvement, or business transformation. I enjoy working with data, but I also love bringing different teams together to solve problems and keep projects moving forward. This internship at Sallie Mae gave me real-world experience managing project lifecycles, adapting to changing requirements, and building dashboards for cross functional teams. Having hands-on experience in a Business Transformation Office gives me the exact skills and confidence I need to launch into a project-focused role.