King’s Students Complete Wide Range of Summer Internships

One of the ways that The King’s College seeks to prepare our students to shape and eventually lead strategic public and private institutions is through providing opportunities to our students for top internships. Because of our New York City location and connections, King’s students are able to compete and land key internships as they prepare for their future careers.

As the summer winds down, we wanted to share about some of the internships that King’s students have just finished.

Esther Wickham, The Washington Examiner

Esther Wickham (JCS ’23) was an opinion and commentary summer fellow at The Washington Examiner. She discovered the internship through an academic program entitled The Fund for American Studies, which Prof. Clemente Lisi and Prof. Paul Glader mentioned to her. Esther spent the summer pitching story ideas and writing op-eds, creating three to four original pieces a week. She also was able to attend the White House Briefing Room with the Examiner’s White House correspondent.

Esther has appreciated the opportunity to write for the Examiner, finding that the constant writing has sharpened her writing skills and given her valuable experience for a future career in journalism. She has found her experience at The Empire State Tribune invaluable for her current fellowship, along with her many journalism classes at King’s. After graduation, Esther would like to become a constitutional lawyer and work as a White House correspondent.

David Rovis, ReflexGroup

David Rovis (MCA ’23) served as an Account Manager Intern for ReflexGroup, an international boutique creative agency that provides creative marketing solutions for luxury brands. Through a suggestion from the King’s Career Development office, David applied to ArtBound Initiative, a global internship program that helps young creatives break into the creative industry, and was accepted and placed in this internship. His day-to-day responsibilities include conducting influencer research, forming pricing estimates for clients, as well as creative tasks like copywriting and developing new ideas for different brands.

Throughout his internship, David has learned so much about the way the advertising, branding, and marketing industry works. He has had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in account management and influencer marketing, as well as develop his interpersonal skills. David credits Dr. Fotopulos’ Principles of Management and Organization and Introduction to Marketing for helping him to understand how the industry functions, as well as how to treat people with dignity, grace, and Christ-like love in a corporate setting. He also found that Dr. Bleattler’s Arts and Ideas course enabled him to think outside the box regarding creative tasks, allowing him to generate more interesting ideas for the brands he worked with. David enjoys the dynamic yet challenging aspect of creative work and hopes to build a career in the advertising world.

Brennan Kitson-Jones, Thrivent

Brennan Kitson-Jones (Finance ’23) has served as a field intern this summer at Thrivent, a Fortune 500 not-for-profit financial services organization based in Minneapolis, Minn. Prof. Michael Hyrnuik connected Brennan to a financial advisor at Thrivent, through whom he secured the internship. Brennan’s day-to-day responsibilities include working alongside his financial advisor and helping to develop holistic financial strategies for their clients. He’s also helped to create a handbook for financial advisors on best practices in regards to marketing, joint field work, referrals, and financial software.

This internship has helped Brennan gain in-depth knowledge about all of the products and financial services that are available to create and protect wealth. Given the economic uncertainty this summer, it’s been a great opportunity for him to better understand the implications of inflation, raising interest rates, and how to maintain financial stability during a struggling market. Brennan cites Dr. Kabiawu’s Corporate Finance class and her lessons on the time value of money as being an important part of his preparation for better understanding wealth management. Ultimately, Brennan would like to work in private equity, and sees this internship as a valuable introduction into the world of finance.

Drew Nagy, UBS

Drew Nagy (Finance ’24) interned this summer in the Global Wealth Management department at UBS, a Swiss-based investment bank. Drew got connected to the position through a King’s alumnus who currently works at the firm. His work during the internship is to assist the financial advisors at the firm with their work, typically by pulling and analyzing internal reports about different investment types. He’s also spent time discussing what investments make the most sense for their clients, and reading other internal reports from analysts to ensure an up-to-date understanding of current market conditions.

Through this internship, Drew has been able to learn valuable skills surrounding portfolio management and working with securities. He’s appreciated being able to talk with people who have spent their careers in the securities industry and gain wisdom from their experience. Drew’s time at King’s has strengthened his ability to read and write, which has helped him excel in reading through internal reports and summarizing them to his colleagues with clarity and conciseness. He’s found Prof. Brian Brenberg’s Business Communications class particularly helpful towards gaining these important skills.

Elinore Straughn, Embers International

Elinore Straughn (PPE ’24) has interned this summer as an Embers Apprentice at Embers International Inc., a global organization that seeks to protect, restore, and empower victims of injustice in India. Elinore got connected to Embers’ CEO, Haejin Fujimura, through serving as the president of the International Justice Mission chapter at King’s. This relationship led to an opportunity for Elinore to intern at Embers. She has worked primarily with the finance, development, and program management teams, as well as being involved in research to help develop programs with women and children as they exit trafficking.

Elinore’s internship at Embers has been an invaluable exploration of nonprofit structure and culture, and has helped her cultivate new interpersonal, professional, and leadership skills. As a PPE major, she’s found it invigorating to try something new that’s not directly related to her major. Dr. Dru Johnson’s Introduction to Hebrew Literature class helped to cultivate a greater understanding in Elinore of God’s love of justice, His posture towards the oppressed, and the responsibility of God’s people to live accordingly. She hopes to be able to spend her career bringing justice and beauty together, through seeking out transformation where it seems least likely.

Nicholas Rommel, St. Luke’s University Health Network

Nicholas Rommel (PPE ’24) has spent the summer as a Vendor Contract Management Intern in the IT Strategy and Finance department at St. Luke’s University Health Network, a twelve hospital health system in Bethlehem, Penn. During his internship, Nicholas performed contract auditing, including helping to keep track of auto-renewal and terminating contracts. He also helped to organize and maintain contract databases within Microsoft Teams and other software.

Nicholas’ internship has taught him about the importance of business contracts, the importance of developing strong relationships with both customers and colleagues, and the significance of innovative technology to patient healthcare. He credits Dr. Dru Johnson’s Principles of Biblical Interpretation for teaching him how to carefully interpret contract language and intention. Nicholas hopes to pursue a career as a college professor and teach in an academic setting.

Josiah DeBoer, CultivateNYC

Josiah DeBoer (RTS ’24) interned this summer with CutivateNYC, a church plant in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City that is a part of the Cross Creek Network. Josiah originally met his now-boss at the on-campus internship fair in September 2021, cultivating a relationship which eventually turned into a summer job offer. Josiah is responsible for leading the church’s children ministry, running their general operations, and overseeing four summer GenSend interns, helping them to make the most of their seven weeks in the city.

Josiah’s internship has caused him to spend a lot of time thinking about community engagement and what healthy growth looks like for an organization. Dr. Blander’s Medieval Philosophy class helped him to grow in humility and understand the importance of character development, which has been helpful as he takes on more responsibility at the church. Josiah hopes to eventually work in some kind of non-profit ministry after college.