ECU students turn classroom learning into community impact
- 20 ECU students gained more than 300 hours of paid, hands-on experience working with organizations across eastern North Carolina.
- Students applied classroom knowledge, built professional skills and gained valuable insight into their future careers.
Twenty East Carolina University students took their learning beyond the classroom this summer, gaining hands-on experience while working with communities across eastern North Carolina. As part of the 2026 State Employees’ Credit Union Public Fellows Internship Program, the students spent more than 300 hours working with local organizations. Their projects covered a wide range of needs, including strategic planning, water quality testing, artifact conservation, summer camps, community programs and public events.
Funded by the SECU Foundation, the program gives students paid, hands-on professional experience while providing community organizations with additional talent and fresh perspectives to help address local priorities. For their host organizations, it brought motivated students into the work of strengthening communities throughout eastern North Carolina. For the students, the summer offered a chance to explore potential career paths and gain experience that can’t be replicated in a classroom.
20 ECU students gained more than 300 hours of paid, hands-on experience working with organizations across eastern North Carolina. (Contributed photo)
William Sauls, a senior from Williamston majoring in entrepreneurship, spent his time with the Pamlico County Economic Development office. He said the internship complemented his classroom experience by giving him an opportunity to apply what he had learned in a real-world setting.
“Honestly, this internship was critical. It was super crucial to any success I have later,” Sauls said. “It boosted my confidence, mostly just getting out there, speaking with new people, introducing myself and really learning the manners and etiquette aspect of it, too. I got a chance to put those into practice, and I know that I can do it now. I just know I’m ready now.”
Beth Bucksot, director of planning and economic development in Pamlico County, mentored and supervised Sauls and recognized the value of the program, which was evident from both sides of the experience. Sauls brought skills from ECU’s entrepreneurship program into a rural community where resources are limited and helped local businesses navigate the challenges of starting and growing a business.
“This was his first job,” Bucksot said. “Watching him come in the first couple of days to be a little bit nervous and then grow and start to feel like he had more confidence in what he was doing and then began to see the application of the projects he was given and how they actually helped numerous businesses. So, watching that confidence grow was huge for me.”
For Ananya Chatterjee, a junior biology major from Cary, spending the summer at ACES for Autism in Winterville was more than an internship: It was an important step toward her goal of becoming a doctor. The experience gave her firsthand insight into what it means to care for others and helped her begin developing the skills, empathy and responsibility she will carry with her into a career in medicine.
“I think this program is the reason why I am a much more knowledgeable, much more empathetic, much more capable person,” Chatterjee said. “It has given me the opportunity to dive headfirst into a field that I didn’t really know about.”
Working in a medical-equivalent field also gave Chatterjee an opportunity to experience responsibilities that closely mirror the work she hopes to do as a physician.
“I learned to be responsible for somebody’s care, which is something that I don’t think a lot of pre-meds actually realize that we have to do,” she said. “We talk about how we’re going to be a doctor one day, but what does it actually mean to be a doctor? And that’s what I learned as well.”
SECU Program Manager Cassie Keel, who has watched dozens of students complete the program, said the value of the internship extends well beyond the summer and even beyond graduation. The experience gives students a supportive introduction to the workplace, where they learn how to navigate challenges, work with others and adapt when life doesn’t go as planned.
“Those real-world lessons are an important part of preparing students for what comes next,” said Keel. “The students are working in a real-world environment and learning professionalism, how to deal with coworkers who may not have the same train of thought as them, how to deal with things that just come along and how to deal with life. Our supervisors are really welcoming to understanding when life shifts.”
Keel also emphasized that the students serve as ambassadors for ECU, showing how the university’s investment in experiential learning benefits not only students, but also the communities and region they serve.
ECU has served as a founding partner of the program since its launch in 2014 and to date, over 200 ECU students have completed internships with 85 organizations across 25 North Carolina counties.