The power of internships

UM-Dearborn students took their talents beyond the classroom over the summer, diving into internships that sharpened their skills, expanded their networks and shaped their futures.

Today, students from the  College of Education, Health and Human Services student and College of Business reflect on the ways their internships gave them a first-hand look at life in their chosen fields — and reinforced their career paths.

“The professors and staff here know you on an individual level,” says CEHHS student Noah Musson. “They will do whatever they can to connect you with the right opportunities before you graduate.”

Read more internship highlights with CASL and CECS students.

Aleeya Thacker

College of Business
Marketing and Finance senior
Plante Moran and StockX

College of Business senior Aleeya Thacker grew up around entrepreneurial thinkers. Her grandfather ran a clothing store and her father operates a software product engineering company.

She admired her family’s ability to connect customers with what they needed. As a dual major in marketing and finance, she credits her experiences at UM-Dearborn with giving her the skills to do the same.

Two internships she landed while at the university have shown Thacker different ways on how to market to potential customers. She worked at Plante Moran in 2026 and at StockX in 2025. 

She says her UM-Dearborn experiences prepared her to succeed at both. A student assistant job in the Office of the Provost strengthened her organization and customer service skills. A Summer Undergraduate Research Experience project with Professor of Marketing Elif Izberk-Bilgin developed her research abilities. A career peer job at Career Services helped her effectively articulate her skills and experience to employers. She credits Rita Agius, academic senior program manager at the College of Business, for assisting her with academic requirements and internship approvals.

“These experiences have helped me build the skills and perspective I need for the career I want and to prepare myself for one day, maybe in 15 years, to run my own business in the food and beverage industry,” she says. “I like the variety that comes with the marketing industry and working with people.”

At Plante Moran, Thacker synthesized complex information from CPAs and tax specialists into accessible, persuasive proposals for potential clients. She joined its Marketing Pursuit Strategy and Proposal team in June.

Over the summer, she progressed from writing short team bios to contributing to a comprehensive five-page executive summary and supporting fiscal-year pursuit reporting for senior leadership. 

As the summer came to an end, she realized there were projects she wanted to continue developing and skills she still wanted to build. Rather than viewing the internship’s August end date as a stopping point, she started a conversation about how she could continue contributing to the team during her senior year. “The saddest part of an internship to me is that they are so short. Just when you really feel like you’re getting the grip on things, it ends.” she says. 

Thacker will continue her internship through her April 2027 graduation. She’s working with the director of pursuit strategy to design a pilot project to bring post-pursuit client feedback surveys in-house.

Prior to Plante Moran, Thacker interned at StockX, a Detroit-based sneaker and current-culture marketplace. She served as a business operations intern who worked closely with the media and advertising department.

Stationed on the 10th floor of StockX’s downtown headquarters, her job was to help create opportunities for buyers and sellers to engage with the marketplace. Working alongside StockX’s North America supply director, she helped develop and execute seller promotional campaigns — including a 14-day $0 seller fee initiative — and reaching out to third-party brands with audiences that overlapped with StockX’s audience to explore advertising partnerships.

Thacker had the opportunity to see some major brand partnership campaigns come to life, including collaborations with a national headwear retailer and leading payment and financial technology partners. She sat in on strategy meetings from the early proposal stages through final production, built media kits, and reviewed campaign graphics and physical promotional inserts. Once the campaigns went live, Thacker tracked performance metrics to see how they were pacing against initial projections.

Among her favorite experiences during that internship was participating in an exclusive small-group discussion with StockX co-founder Dan Gilbert. His core advice — to act decisively on promising ideas — left a lasting impression on her professional outlook.

“I was truly inspired by his passion,” she says. “He seems to genuinely enjoy the work he does — that's important in whatever career path one chooses to take. I really like what I’ve done in my internships and it reinforced that I am on the right path for my career.”

Noah Musson

College of Education, Health and Human Services
Sport management junior
Toledo Mud Hens

Noah Musson went to his first Detroit Tigers game at age 4. Around age 8, he attended his first Toledo Mud Hens game. “At that Mud Hens game, a baseball was hit into the stands and I got it. As a kid who loves baseball, that is something that sticks with you forever,” he says. “I loved being able to go to those games growing up.”

Today, Musson not only attends the games of the Tigers’ Triple-A minor league affiliate — he helps create the fan experience. During the 2026 baseball season, the sport management major served as an intern for the Mud Hens’ Swamp Squad. The group runs in-game fan activities, supervises on-field contests, assists with team mascots, and hypes up the crowd with interactive dance cams.

“I saw the Swamp Squad at the games and thought it was really cool how they're entertaining the fans,” Musson says. “When it came time to look for a summer internship for my sport management program, working there jumped out.”

The internship, which ran from April through September, offered Musson responsibilities in game operations, including coordinating ceremonial first pitches and generating fan engagement ideas.

“As much as I love baseball, some people who attend aren’t really into the sport. Maybe they came for the theme — like ’80s night — and my job was to find fun activities that coordinate with the theme so everyone could have the best experience possible,” he says.

A season highlight included assisting with crowd control at a June game when Detroit Tigers player Justin Verlander pitched for Toledo while recovering from an injury.“ It’s the last year before he retires and we got a notice that he’d be playing in a game. The staff was all hands on deck. There were more than 10,000 fans at that game,” Musson says.

He also enjoyed meeting former World Wrestling Entertainment announcer Jimmy Hart, who appeared as a special guest during a WWE-themed night.

“I was his personal assistant for the day and learned a lot from him,” Musson says. “When it comes to celebrities, you don't know how someone is going to interact with the public. Having so much time being ‘on’ can take a lot out of you. But Jimmy was laid back and genuinely appreciated the fans. I could tell he was fatigued by the end of the day — he did a lot. But he did it with a smile on his face.”

Musson, a transfer student from Adrian College, came to UM-Dearborn last year specifically for its sport management program. He says professors he spoke with, such as Clinical Assistant Professor of Sport Management Denise Kamyuka, focused heavily on connecting students with hands-on experiences.

He noted that short- and long-term opportunities with regional professional organizations are abundant. For instance, when the Banana Ball baseball league — known for dancing and other antics during games — plays at Comerica Park this weekend, Musson will be working in game operations through connections made by his professors.

He regularly receives emails from professors regarding open roles, ranging from Grand Rapids Griffins hockey team internships to seasonal positions refereeing and running scoreboards for local basketball tournaments.“ Also, with the NCAA Men’s Final Four being in Detroit this year, they are looking at how sport management students can volunteer there this coming spring,” he adds.

As for Musson, he already has his next internship lined up: He’ll begin working in October with the Toledo Walleye ice hockey team, an affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings.

Stories by Sarah Tuxbury