Summer Internships Offer a Springboard to Success for the Undergraduate Class of 2026
According to Cynthia Bush, director of the Gabelli School’s Personal and Professional Development Center (PPD), internship experiences are invaluable. “Students are able to take what they’ve learned and see what it’s like to work in a particular field,” she noted. “Internships provide a great framework for moving forward in their careers, often with an internship leading to a full-time offer.”
That was the case for Alaina Stanisci, who is pursuing a B.S. in Marketing with a concentration in global business. This past summer, Stanisci interned at BlackRock, where she conducted a competitive analysis of annual private market outlooks. “I presented key recommendations to senior management, which was a great opportunity to hone multiple skills.” After graduation, she will join the firm as a marketing analyst.
Stanisci previously interned at New York Life Investments and the International Advertising Association. She credits her internship experiences with expanding her awareness of what a marketing career might be like.
Raimy Little, a finance major with a concentration in credit, also refined her career goals over the course of three internships. After a wealth management internship at an Ameriprise office, Little discovered a passion for restructuring at Alvarez & Marsal before exploring several areas in a generalist intern program at Moelis, where she will return after graduation as an investment banking analyst. “I was one of only five members on each deal team at Moelis, so I was able to make a huge impact,” Little explained. “I honestly loved it all and I’m very excited to go back.”
Other Class of 2026 summer interns received full-time offers at industry giants such as Barclays, American Express, L’Oreal, J.P. Morgan, and Goldman Sachs.
Sometimes an internship lasts longer than just a summer. Jesse Wang has been interning in Sony’s State and Local Tax department for the past year and a half. Wang, an accounting information systems major with a concentration in IT consulting, has had the opportunity not only to explore tax practice, but also to put his information systems knowledge to work at Sony. Next summer, Wang will intern at Deloitte.
In addition to identifying internship opportunities for students, PPD offers individualized career coaching by professionals with deep experience in their respective fields. Services include behavioral and technical interview preparation, assistance with résumé and LinkedIn profile development, networking and industry engagement events, and more. When an employer has a specific need, PPD also creates a bespoke book filled with résumés of students who fit the employer’s criteria.
“We try to make it easy for employers to hire our students for summer internships and beyond. By partnering with them and being responsive to their needs, we ensure that they have a positive experience, which leads to greater opportunities for our students,” said Bush. “Employers have come to expect that they will find strong candidates at the Gabelli School, so they want to come here, and they want to hire.”