Many students at the Naveen Jindal School of Management spent at least part of this past summer doing internships related to their majors. In doing so, they gained real-world, professional experience and had the opportunity to apply their academic learnings within corporate settings.
Internships are so valuable that they are a requirement for graduation at the undergraduate level. At the graduate level, most degree programs also require an internship. Since 2018, more than 7,300 Jindal School students have completed more than 9,600 internships at more than 4,688 unique companies. The Career Management Center at the Jindal School, guides students through these internship experiences and serves as the framework and touchstone for their execution.
“In today’s uncertain job market, you can either send 1,000 résumés and still not be guaranteed a job or internship, or you can access the CMC’s personalized career coaching, workshops, networking opportunities and a variety of job search resources,” said Tom Kim, assistant dean, career management at the Jindal School. “Our students’ success is our top priority, and we are committed to empowering them to achieve their career goals. The internships we help our students coordinate are a powerful way to accomplish that — but just as critical is the network they build along the way. Through the CMC, students connect with alumni, industry professionals and recruiters who often become the key to unlocking future opportunities.”
Hitesh Kodavatikanti, a graduate student in the Jindal School’s Master’s in Business Analytics & Artificial Intelligence (STEM) program, was a data analytics intern this summer at CBRE, a commercial real estate services and investment firm headquartered in Dallas. He developed a Python and Streamlit framework that can connect to different data sources and detect unusual patterns, while being reusable and easy to configure. He said courses he had completed in previous semesters — Database Foundations for Business Analytics (BUAN 6320) and Business Analytics with R (BUAN 6356) in particular — were keys to his success.
“The concepts I had learned, particularly SQL and Machine Learning, proved highly valuable and directly supported my internship work,” he said. “This internship project not only strengthened my technical skills but also taught me how to design solutions that are reusable, scalable and adaptable to different business needs.”
Kodavatikanti said his internship was an incredible experience, and he thoroughly enjoyed the journey.
“It gave me the confidence that I belong in the tech industry and that I can contribute to solving real-world problems,” he said. “It also gave me clarity on my career goals. I realized the importance of building end-to-end solutions and following a structured process in problem-solving. This mindset has shaped the way I want to grow in my career moving forward.”
The Jindal School and the CMC played major roles in preparing Kodavatikanti for his internship. He said they not only brought companies and industry professionals to campus, creating a strong brand image for JSOM, but also gave students valuable exposure through events where they learned about new technologies and hiring processes.
“I’m especially grateful to Mike Press and Peter Manoogian, career development specialists at the CMC who were incredibly patient and supportive during my appointments, guiding me with résumé preparation, interviews, elevator pitches and more,” he said. “Each interaction helped me become more knowledgeable, confident and better prepared for my internship.”
Wan-Yu Wang, a senior pursuing a double major in Global Business and Marketing, spent the summer in Tokyo interning for Titan Consulting K.K., a recruitment firm specializing in mid- to executive-level search consulting solutions for companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device and green energy sectors.
Her role was as an executive search researcher.
“I was the first point of connection for professionals in the pharmaceutical market,” she said. “My job was to find potential candidates in marketing, coding and business development, then reach out to them about confidential career opportunities with our senior consultants.”
Wang said although the role was intimidating at first, her double major gave her the foundation and framework to lean on.
“From my sales concentration, I used prospecting and needs-assessment skills to build trust faster,” she said. “This opened the door for me to handle more challenging projects.”
She remembered from having taken the Global Market Entry Strategies (IMS 4350) course how important cultural nuances are — especially in Japan, she said, where hierarchy, titles and etiquette carry weight.
“And because JSOM emphasizes business acumen, I was able to quickly see how each role we were recruiting for added value to a client company,” she said. “That perspective helped me ‘speak their language’ and keep my focus on what mattered most to the client.”
The biggest takeaway from this internship for Wang was learning to trust the process and let go of the fear of rejection.
“Recruitment is a lot like sales,” she said. “You face rejection 70–85% of the time. In the beginning, I felt frustrated when my outreach didn’t get responses. It seemed like all my effort wasn’t leading anywhere.”
But over time, she began to realize there isn’t one “perfect” way to reach someone.
“What matters is persistence and mindset,” she said. “A single call or email won’t get me there, but hundreds — done consistently and with the right attitude — can bring me closer to success. That lesson stretched beyond work, too. In life, I won’t always win; sometimes 90% of my effort is just preparation for the 10% of victories. That’s why I try to have a growth mindset. It is so powerful that it helps me push through the tough stretches and appreciate the wins when they come.”
One question Wang kept coming back to during her internship was, “How do I add value?”
Although she said she didn’t walk away with a step-by-step 5–10 year plan, like she had hoped, she did discover what she enjoys most: connecting with people, understanding their needs and helping them reach their goals.
“I know any career path that brings those three pieces together will be a great fit for me,” she said. “At the same time, I’ve accepted that life is full of surprises. What I want at 22 might look completely different five years from now. The important part is to stay open, keep learning and keep chasing opportunities that get me closer to what feels right. Looking to what I’ve achieved from my internship, I understand that I have the potential and capacity to chase those ‘wild’ career dreams in the future.”
Wang, who is in the Jindal School’s Davidson Management Honors Program (DMHP), said doing an international internship, although it sounds exciting, can also come with big financial challenges — flights, housing, insurance and the reality of being in a foreign country on your own.
“That’s why I’m especially grateful for my DMHP scholarship,” she said. “It lifted the financial pressure so I could really focus on immersing myself in the culture. Just as important, I had support from a friend in the cohort who had been through a similar experience. They gave me tips — and even a personalized travel plan — that made me feel more confident and prepared before arriving in Japan.”
Looking back, Wang also sees how much the Jindal School helped shape her little by little.
“The classes, resources and professional development opportunities built up my confidence over time, so when this chance came, I felt ready to take it,” she said.
