Conquering the Summer:Foster MBA Interns
Summer internships mark the all-important transition from the first year to the second year of the MBA and give students a chance to use all the new skills they have accumulated in their business “toolbox” over the first year of the MBA. As always, Foster MBAs this year made their way into some of the biggest and most prestigious companies across America.
Preparations for summer internships start as early as Autumn quarter with Foster students engaging in networking and case preparations for consulting internship opportunities, which are the first to arrive on campus. Networking, a term synonymous with every MBA, is a great way to learn about various roles and organizations. With plenty of supportive Foster alumni present in the Seattle area, a friendly coffee chat is just an email away. Consulting internships offer students a great chance to experience the breadth of an industry and pick up critical technical and interpersonal skills.
As Gina Johnson (MBA 2019) says “I was an operations improvement consultant intern at ECG, a management consulting firm specializing in provider side healthcare. I got to work on eight different client projects this summer, giving me opportunities to apply lots of new MBA skills I learned in the first year, learn more about different aspects of the healthcare industry I hadn’t previously been exposed to, and see firsthand what a career in consulting could be like!”
However, some Foster MBAs don’t get to experience the beautiful Seattle summer because they find themselves solving challenging business problems in different parts of the country. From Samsung in New York to Facebook and Dell in Austin and LinkedIn in the Bay area; Foster MBAs affect change, coast to coast. Andrew Caponi (MBA 2019) was a product manager at Facebook’s Austin office this summer, and he was able to soak up some sun and drive tangible impact for the social networking giant. As Andrew says “This summer, I worked on Facebook’s Risk and Payments team providing analytical support to product managers. After gaining an understanding of the business, I created a product health monitoring framework and build a real-time tool that provided managers with quantitative guidance on where to invest in product quality and integrity as they scale. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Facebook and was very appreciative of the resources they provided me which allowed me to make an impact in a relatively short period of time. “
Another power team that made way out of Seattle for the summer was David Cone and Catherine La Plant who made sure Intel’s finance team had access to some sharp business minds for the summer. Talking about his experience at Intel in Portland, David (MBA 2019) says” This summer I spent my time learning what it means to be a finance professional at Intel. Over the course of my internship, I had the opportunity to use the skills I learned in my classes and test out my career switch from information technology to finance. Although I was nervous about such a big switch, I was able to lean heavily on a fellow classmate, Catherine LaPlant, that also interned at Intel. Overall I had a great experience and would highly recommend Intel for future MBA students at Foster.”
Summer internships during your MBA are a great way to learn new skills, put your knowledge to the test and explore roles and industries that may be of potential interest to you. The staff and faculty at Foster, current students, and the alumni across the globe will help ensure that you have a summer experience that is not only fulfilling but also filled with fond memories that you can bring back to your second year of B-School.
