2019 Summer Internship Fund Recipients Feel Lasting Impact of Their Work

Photo Credit: John Soares

For Fuqua School of Business Daytime MBA student and Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) Fellow Sarah Burns, 20 short minutes spent in a gym on a Friday night proved to be one of the most deeply impactful parts her summer.

That evening, she got the chance to attend a ceremony for six young men celebrating their graduation from a four-year intervention program at Roca, which is a social enterprise that empowers young men and women to build the behaviors and skills that will help them remain out of jail and maintain a safe, stable and independent life.

Having been placed at Roca by The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF), which is where Burns worked this summer thanks to financial assistance from Fuqua’s Summer Internship Fund, Burns felt like this event was a powerful demonstration of the true positive impact of social enterprises.

“I was so honored to be at the graduation because it was awesome to hear about how far these men had come through their own hard work and through the help of Roca staff,” said Burns. “The funding I received from the Fuqua Summer Internship Fund and the lessons I learned from attending CASE-led events with leaders in the field last year were instrumental in making the summer a positive experience.”

Managed by CASE, the Fuqua Career Management Center and the Fuqua Net Impact Club, the Fuqua Summer Internship Fund was started in 2003 to provide students like Burns with the opportunity to learn about the rewards and challenges of social sector management without making a significant financial sacrifice, as it matches up to a total salary of $15,000, or $7,500 in employer contributions. Simultaneously, the program enables organizations that cannot otherwise afford MBA interns, including nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and Certified B-Corporations, with the possibility of leveraging MBA knowledge and expertise, to generate a lasting social impact.

“At REDF, we have hosted a number of Fuqua students over the years as part of the Summer Internship Fund and I often find that the impact that these students have at the enterprises where they work is truly lasting and felt for many years following the internship,” said Christina Gilyutin, Director of Leadership Programs at REDF. “In many cases, that impact just would not be possible without the financial support that the Summer Internship Fund provides.”

In addition to providing both employers and students with these valuable learning opportunities to further their impact, the Summer Internship Fund has also created a resourceful network for many to continue learning far beyond an eight-week summer internship.

As Fuqua Daytime MBA Student and CASE Fellow Samantha Robinson, who interned at Education Pioneers this summer with help from the Summer Internship Fund said, “My favorite part of being an Education Pioneers Fellow was being a part of a community of talented professionals who have a deep passion for educational equity. Coming from the higher education and career development space, I learned a lot about the K-12 sector from the official programming, but I loved being able to continue those conversations with the group throughout the summer and at multi-school events like the Net Impact Conference this fall.”

Whether through promoting educational equity, lowering incarceration rates or something else entirely, Burns, Robinson and the other ten participants in the 2019 Summer Internship Fund worked hard this summer to provide invaluable expertise to social enterprises across the United States, which has helped them create a positive impact and build lasting networks that will help further their careers in the impact space in the years to come.

To help provide impact-filled summer internship experiences to Fuqua MBA students, support the Summer Internship Fund. To learn more about the Summer Internship Fund in general, or to learn more about being a host organization for an MBA summer intern, visit CASE’s financial aid page or contact Jess Wingert at the Career Management Center at jessica.s.stewart@duke.edu.

2019 Summer Internship Fund Recipients

  • Sarah Burns
  • Kiersten Chresfield
  • Steve Hasty
  • Joseph Hodges
  • Divya Kantamneni
  • Taylor Mattingly
  • Heather McPherson
  • Samantha Robinson
  • Molly Tyeryar
  • Rebecca von dem Hagen
  • Sean Yoon

2019 Summer Internship Fund Organizations

  • Ed Pioneers
  • Duke University, Data + Program
  • Impact Capital Managers
  • Inspiring Capital
  • Morris, Manning, and Martin
  • National Football Association
  • National Parks Service
  • NC Growth
  • NFL
  • REDF