IMBA students set sail for summer internships
Following spring commencement in early May, the 16 students in East Carolina University’s Immersive MBA program will embark on internships with businesses in Greenville, Raleigh, Wilmington and even New York. ECU’s College of Business recently hosted the Set Sail event to present the students with medallions and stoles to wear at their graduation and to network with representatives of the companies they’ll be working with this summer.
Emma Gebel receives her IMBA medallion from Leonard Mansfield, assistant director of the Arthur Graduate School of Business. (Photos by Steven Mantilla)
Dr. Linda Quick, assistant dean of the Thomas D. Arthur Graduate School of Business, said the event provided an opportunity to celebrate the students’ accomplishments and for them to get to know their employers. In the IMBA program, the students take their classes together and complete their MBA coursework in one year, including a summer internship. Each IMBA student receives a full scholarship and a paid graduate assistantship position for an investment of $25,000 per student.
To match the students with employers, Quick said, “we talk to each of the students early on in the program, and even as early as when they’re interviewing for the program, to see what areas they’re interested in.”
Key local employers like Hyster-Yale and Thermo Fisher reserve some spots for interns, and the students are also encouraged to make their own connections with companies in which they’re interested. That’s how Emma Gebel landed an internship with IBM Power in Armonk, New York.
“I started networking in undergrad for an internship,” she said. “I knew I wanted to work at a multinational corporation and apply my undergrad degree, which was in management, with a concentration in international business. And then I knew I had an interest in finance as well.”
As she continued her networking efforts during the IMBA program, she connected with Michael Howard ’99, a chief financial officer with IBM who spoke at the COB’s Finance Conference in December.
“I had a meeting with him, and that’s kind of how I got my first initial connection with IBM. And then from there, I was able to apply for the internship,” she said.
Like Gebel, Matthew Kornegay earned an internship that combines multiple interests — in his case, business and real estate. His father is a real estate broker in Mount Olive and inspired his interest in the industry, he said. He reached out to Landon Stevenson ’22, ’24, an ECU Arthur School MBA graduate who works as a financial analyst with the Overton Group, a commercial real estate firm. Stevenson connected him with the owner and other leaders in the company, leading to an internship offer.
This year’s IMBA students will embark on internships around Greenville, the Triangle and New York.
“I was able to kind of talk them through what my idea of what I wanted for an internship was. They were able to give or provide me with what they were able to offer, and it was just a really good fit,” he said. Kornegay has already passed pre-licensing courses for his real estate exam and looks forward to learning more about the business, he said.
Joel Sweeney, Overton Group’s director of marketing and business development, said he hopes the experience will give Kornegay the foundation and building blocks for a successful career.
“We’ve had quite a few interns and full-time employees that came from ECU … and realistically, every single one has been a fantastic employee, and a lot of them have gone on to bigger markets and done really good things for themselves,” he said. “So for us, we’ve had such a successful track record with hiring people who got their MBAs from ECU, so it was an easy decision.”
Jack Dyba said he spent months in constant communication with employees and mentors at MegaCorp Logistics in Wilmington after a job-shadowing experience in 2023.
“From that moment, I made it a personal goal to be part of their team one day,” he said. “This internship combines elements of supply chain management and logistics, areas that were entirely new to me before entering the IMBA program. What excites me most is how well MegaCorp’s culture and emphasis on operational excellence align with my long-term vision: to become a well-rounded, impactful leader in the business world.
“If there’s one thing this program has instilled in me, it’s the confidence that I’m capable of anything I set my mind to, and I expect this internship to be a meaningful step in solidifying that notion.”
Dyba said being a part of the tight-knit IMBA cohort has been a unique and rewarding educational experience.
“We celebrate each other’s wins, lean on each other during challenges and push one another to be better,” he said. “Knowing that I have a group of friends who truly understand the journey we’re on has been one of the most rewarding aspects of this program.”
Other employers hiring interns through the IMBA program include Grady White, Lenovo, Varonis, First Citizens Bank and Coastal AgroBusiness.