Building Real-World Expertise: Full-Time MBA Students Share Their Summer Internship Experiences

Rising second-year MBA students spent six to 12 weeks at companies all over the world. They tackled real projects, ranging from building models to consulting on supply chain best practices in industries like manufacturing, technology, pharmaceuticals, energy, and more.

Summer internships are a feature of the Michigan Ross Full-Time MBA Program intended to help students network and obtain the real-world experience they’ll need to land a job in their dream field. In addition to internships, students also gain hands-on experience in their fields of interest through MAP projects and receive ongoing support through a variety of Career Development Office resources.

Below, learn what five students had to say about how they landed their internships this year, what real-world skills they learned and utilized on the job, how Michigan Ross supported them, and more.

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AB Rajagopalan Srilatha

Internship role and company: Strategic materials planning intern, Modine Manufacturing Co.
Internship location: Hybrid (20% travel to Trenton, MO; Lawrenceburg, TN; and Chennai, India)

Why did you want to intern at this company or in this role?
I really wanted to intern at a manufacturing company on a strategy team. This internship provided exactly that. The nature of work was hybrid, where I could stay with my family for the majority of the summer. There was also an opportunity to travel internationally and domestically, which was an added perk.

What CDO resources did you use to prepare you for your internship?
I extensively used the Tauber Institute for Global Operations Functional Accountability Career Team group and the CDO peer coaches right from the beginning of my preparations until my final interview. I also sought advice from MBA2s who interned in different roles and industries to understand their diverse perspectives and tailor my internship preparation plan.

How has Ross prepared you for your internship?
The project I was tasked with during my internship required basic supply chain knowledge and a good understanding of data. The operations core — Manufacturing and Supply Chain Operations (TO 605) and Big Data Management (TO 640) are the two most important classes that gave me a strong foundation to start working on this project from day one. The Tauber Institute had a major impact on preparing me for the internship.

How did Ross alumni support you before and during your internship?
The CEO of Modine is a U-M alum and I am really grateful to him for offering this project to us. Though there were no Ross alums directly supporting me during this internship, I am overwhelmed by the support I was offered during the preparation stage. Everyone I reached out to was happy to spend time with me to talk about their experiences and share knowledge. This really helped me better understand the recruitment process.

What did you enjoy most about your internship?
The project had very high visibility. I presented the final deliverable, a capacity model, to the C-suite. The tangible result of my work in the form of a model will be practically used by various plant managers and will impact the strategic decisions taken by the company globally.

What tips would you offer someone who wants to intern in your current industry?
Try to leverage the learnings from even the smallest experiences throughout your time at Ross. This will play a major role in helping crack interviews. Secondly, all of your Michigan Ross classes are important. Learn and make the most out of them. Finally, Ross has an ocean of resources. Students, staff, and professors are ready to help you. Ask questions — don’t shy away!

Describe what you did on a day-to-day basis at your internship.
It depended on where I was working from. If I was working from home (really flexible schedule), I worked on understanding data, sourcing it, building up the model, and tweaking it. If I was tasked to visit a manufacturing facility, then it would be having one-on-ones with various stakeholders that would be using the model and understanding their requirements. That said, everyone was really approachable and would respond to emails and texts quickly or even get on calls to help me sail through the project.

What are some highlights of your first year at Ross?
Being part of Section Four (the best section!), my MAP project with General Motors Co., and my internship with Modine Manufacturing Co.

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Maria Guerrero

Internship location: Remote
Internship role and company: MBA Process Analyst, Becton, Dickinson, and Co.

Why did you want to intern at this company or in this role?
Becton, Dickinson is a leading medical device and technology company. Post-COVID-19, the healthcare industry has been unimaginably disrupted, and as companies like BD try to stabilize, it is imperative to seek new perspectives. I am interested in being in the next generation of supply chain innovators in this industry.

What CDO resources (FACT groups, Peer Coaches, Staff Coaches, Treks) did you use to prepare you for your internship?
Tauber peer coaches were extremely helpful to me in terms of better understanding the recruiting process. They supported me and helped me prepare for my interviews and coffee chats.

How has Ross prepared you for your internship?
The Tauber Institute provided me with all the resources I needed to be prepared for coffee chats, networking sessions, and interviews. In partnership with CDO, they provided resume feedback and operations-specific workshops to prepare us for the summer internship.

How does this internship relate to your MBA goals at Michigan Ross?
One of my primary goals for my time at Ross was to seek professional experience in supply chain and operations within an industry different from my pre-MBA experience, automotive. The Tauber Institute provided me with a wide variety of companies in different industries that ranged from retail to aviation. Healthcare is a rapidly growing industry with a lot of potential that I am very interested in exploring.

How did Ross alumni support you before and during your internship?
The senior vice president that sponsored our summer project is a Ross alum that recently started working at BD. One of her main goals was to increase the Michigan Ross representation across the company.

What tips would you offer someone who wants to intern in your current industry?
Networking is a very important part of the process. It will help you understand what type of role or area within the industry you want to focus on.

Describe what you did on a day-to-day basis at your internship.
My project was an internal consulting project aiming to improve an end-to-end supply chain process. During the discovery phase of the project, I would interview three to five people from different areas of the process in different regions of the world (Asia, Europe, or the United States). Afterward, we moved into analyzing data and brainstorming for potential improvements. Toward the end of my internship, I met with leadership to share improvement ideas and generate a more robust recommendation. I also spent a large portion of my day benchmarking across industries on best practices.  

What are some highlights of your first year at Ross?
Traveling internationally for our MAP project was great. I had the opportunity to learn from a different industry, railway, and do a mini-consulting project abroad. All the different events at Ross and getting to know people in a variety of scenarios, from social to professional, has been a great opportunity.

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Rob O'Gara

Internship role and company: MBA intern — advanced mobility, Tulsa Innovation Labs
Internship location: Tulsa, OK

Why did you want to intern at this company or in this role?
I wanted the chance to work in a startup environment in the energy or mobility space. At Tulsa Innovation Labs, I got to do exactly that!

What CDO resources did you use to prepare you for your internship?
My FACT group peer coach was a very helpful resource as I applied for internships and prepared for interviews. Also, just taking advantage of the great Ross network to learn more about the different career avenues through coffee chats was grand.

How has Ross prepared you for your internship?
While it may sound surprising, my core accounting class was pivotal, as being able to read a balance sheet and income statement has made my business research so much more effective. I also give a lot of credit to the Energy Club at Ross for exposing me to the electrification of mobility, which is a fascinating topic and a big focus of my work.

How does this internship relate to your MBA goals at Michigan Ross?
My goal in getting a Ross MBA is to become a business leader in the clean energy transition. My internship gave me a lot of exposure to that transition and allowed me to make meaningful connections that will expand my network, hopefully opening doors for me down the road.

How did Ross alumni support you before and during your internship?
While there were no Ross alumni working at my organization, Ross alums were helpful when I was applying to more established firms with on-campus recruiting. They really took the time to speak with me about their work and their companies, giving me a better understanding of life in their company and industry.

What tips would you offer someone who wants to intern in your current industry?
Adopt a "risk on" mentality. I have never been to Oklahoma, and none of my classmates were in Oklahoma this summer. So there was a part of me that was nervous about venturing to an "unknown" destination for my summer internship. But this was such a rewarding experience, so I am glad I took on the risk; it worked out so well for me!

Describe what you did on a day-to-day basis at your internship.
In short, my job was to make Tulsa, Oklahoma a national business hub for advanced mobility and energy. The majority of my work revolved around developing and assessing business ideas to support the establishment of a category-leading mobility and energy company in Tulsa with a $1 billion valuation potential.

What are some highlights of your first year at Ross?
Being a football fan, our football games in the Big House were definitely a top experience for me! But the thing I appreciated the most was getting to know the other people in my section and becoming friends with a lot of them!

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Mark Voges

Internship role and company: Product manager intern, MyFitnessPal
Internship location: Virtual (Ann Arbor)

Why did you want to intern at this company or in this role?
I've used MyFitnessPal for years and see vast potential in combining its diet data with other health metrics. This integration could generate valuable insights, simplifying health and well-being improvement for users. They could optimize their health without spending hours understanding the technical aspects of nutrition and exercise.

What CDO resources did you use to prepare you for your internship?
I utilized the Tech/PM FACT group, peer coaches, and staff coaches, and attended the Tech Trek to NYC. Panel discussions focused on individual tech roles were instrumental in providing a comprehensive insight into what pursuing a career in each of these fields would entail.

How has Ross prepared you for your internship?
Ross prepared me well for my internship. The Tech Club broadened my understanding of tech roles and recruitment. FitX connected me with relevant fitness tech companies, sharpening my industry focus. And finally, the Zell Lurie Institute provided real-world experience in design research and product management.

How did Ross alumni support you before and during your internship?
Alumni were instrumental in learning about companies, specific teams, and roles, such as product managers, by sharing their experiences and knowledge in coffee chats.

What did you enjoy most about your internship?
Collaborating with compassionate and highly-skilled professionals, I found my role as a product manager to be incredibly fulfilling. The cross-functional work allowed me to blend various skills and perspectives, something I truly enjoyed. Research around nutrition and exercise for this role, which aligns so well with my personal interests, felt like something I'd be doing in my spare time anyway! Moreover, the opportunity to create products that assist individuals in achieving their fitness goals resonated deeply with my own values, adding a sense of purpose and satisfaction to my daily responsibilities.

What tips would you offer someone who wants to intern in your current industry?
Fitness technology is a major growth market, but the industry is still small in comparison to others. Identify companies that you're interested in early on and focus your networking efforts on them!

Describe what you did on a day-to-day basis at your internship.
I supported new feature launches through data analysis, research, document writing (product specs, strategy/vision), facilitation of cross-functional collaboration, and competitor analysis.

What are some highlights of your first year at Ross?
Making many amazing friends, achieving my first success in my career transition, and having time to reflect on how I would like to live my life going forward.

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Denny Lai

Internship location: Princeton, NJ
Internship role and company: MBA commercial intern, Bristol Myers Squibb

Why did you want to intern at this company or in this role?
BMS provided a fantastic opportunity to explore different functional roles within its commercial rotational program upon graduation (business development, marketing, pharmaceutical pricing/access). The company also shared a lot of cultural similarities with Michigan Ross — intellectually-driven, passionate, and highly-collaborative colleagues.

What CDO resources did you use to prepare you for your internship?
Participating in weekly FACT group meetings, setting up one-on-one sessions with CDO peer and staff coaches, and participating in the Healthcare Trek to Chicago last fall during Professional Development Week helped to narrow my recruitment focus and build wide-ranging connections with industry professionals throughout my recruitment process.

How has Ross prepared you for your internship?
Taking various healthcare electives helped facilitate my industry knowledge throughout my recruitment journey; such coursework included Comprehensive Health Care Strategies (BA 523) and Innovation in Global Health Delivery (TO 653). Involvement with the Healthcare and Life Sciences Club, as well as the Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund, equipped me with skillsets to navigate internship interviews more adeptly.

How did Ross alumni support you before and during your internship?
Ross alumni have been and continue to be strong advocates for me throughout my career pivot (and recruitment journey) as well as now at BMS — continuing to pass along wisdom and sharing best practices as I get my bearings while breaking into a new industry.

What did you enjoy most about your internship?
I enjoyed the extensive accessibility I had to connect with senior leadership throughout the organization at BMS. Being able to put one-on-one coffee chats on calendars with leadership has broadened my perspective on the industry and introduced me to different opportunities and functional roles available within the biopharmaceutical industry.

What tips would you offer someone who wants to intern in your current industry?
Network earlier on in the process and try to talk to a few people at each of the companies you're hoping to recruit for. You should also stay up-to-date with current news within the healthcare industry — which can be done through podcasts and industry newsletters, and make sure to gather higher-level insight into the product portfolios of the companies you're hoping to intern at, as it increases the depth of conversation and interview discussion.

Describe what you did on a day-to-day basis at your internship.
My day-to-day experience at BMS was threefold: 
1. I built out my professional network and my industry knowledge through regular coffee chats with organizational leadership throughout the week.
2. I engaged in department decision-deliberating meetings to discuss high-level strategies around product development's next steps.
3. I incorporated frameworks and learnings from many of my first-year classes into product-strategy deliverables for organizational leadership.

What are some highlights of your first year at Ross?
Participating in the Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund as an MBA1 fellow to broaden my understanding and skillsets with early-stage venture capital, developing leadership skills as Section Five President and having an active role in curating my section's culture and MBA1 experience, and competing at the Kellogg Biotech Case Competition with close friends and bringing home the silver to Ross at the end of the weekend.