Summer Internship with City of Durham, Sustainability & Energy Management Team
Mara Michel, Daytime MBA 2026
As a Graduate Student Intern for the City of Durham, my role was to assess the feasibility of solar photovoltaics on the City’s closed landfill as part of the City’s goal to power its operations with 80% renewable energy by 2030. Unfortunately, the feasibility assessment results were inconclusive due to outstanding questions that could not be answered during the short timeline of 11 weeks. However, my business skills helped me to execute the rest of the assessment and develop a roadmap for the City to continue the work. Key skills I used included stakeholder engagement to speak with different internal and external subject matter experts, financial analysis to estimate both direct and avoided costs, strategy to develop recommendations for multiple possible outcomes, and communication to deliver my findings and recommendations to senior leadership. My work was well received, and I will bring many lessons learned with me as I pursue a career in sustainability at an impact focused organization. Local government is the foundation of our communities so learning how it functions, budgets, and plans will be extremely valuable if I partner with any local governments in the future to drive climate solutions. I also gained insights into energy management and the solar industry which I will directly use to help my future organization procure renewable energy.
This internship was supported by the Summer Internship Fund, which enables first-year Duke MBA students to learn about the rewards and challenges of using business to drive positive impact without making a significant financial sacrifice. The program enables organizations that otherwise could not afford to hire MBA student interns to benefit from students’ expertise. Funds are raised through student fundraising and from donors who believe in the mission of the program. If you would like to contribute, you can donate online using your credit card.