Student Stories

OPPORTUNITIES TODAY LEAD TO CONFIDENCE, CAPABILITY AND OPPORTUNITIES TOMORROW

Victoria Blankenship '23, and Jean-Paul Nuñez '24, gained valuable experience through their internship opportunities while being mentored by Berea alumna Layla Almassalkhi '15. This comprehensive educational experience was a collaboration among Berea College's Office of Internships & Career Development, Layla, and The Resource Group, which provides integrated solutions for healthcare organizations.

Layla gained valuable knowledge and skills while she was an intern with The Resource Group and because of the power of her own experience she felt strongly about sharing internship opportunities with more Berea students. "I partnered with the Office of Internships & Career Development to bring potential intern and full-time opportunities to students. But what felt most meaningful was working alongside two Berea interns at my company, Victoria Blankenship and Jean-Paul Nunez," said Layla. "Instead of following the standard recruiting process, we tried something more layered, meeting students in classrooms, in cultural centers, and across informal spaces where real conversations could happen," said Layla. "One of those moments was a shared dinner at Boone Tavern. It was not just a networking event. It became a space for reflection, on identity, on preparing for life after college, and on how to carry our stories into professional spaces without having to shrink them and about creating room for students to see themselves not just as future professionals, but as people whose experiences matter right now."

Victoria, who earned her degree in Business Administration at Berea College, served as an Associate Experience Intern and Jean-Paul, who earned his degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, served as a Business Analyst Intern.

Victoria, a native of Huntington, West Virginia, worked on a recruitment project with fellow Berean Jean-Paul and other interns to create a professional learning environment for current and future Berea students. The group worked together to design and create resources, as well as plan and implement a recruitment event on Berea's campus focusing on raising student involvement in The Resource Group internship program.

Victoria said her role, "allowed me to assist in several departments, with my summer projects ranging from working on the Berea College recruitment project to designing one-page descriptors of internal courses to helping with discovery work." She developed confidence by communicating with professionals within this work environment, setting up meetings, and speaking with executives within the company. "This would never have happened had it not been for the support and encouragement of those I worked with," said Victoria. "Being in this role taught me about what I wanted out of a career-that I cared more for the people I work with and the message of my work than I do for being in any specific position." She said, "This role and the teams I worked with also instilled a love for cross-departmental work, and being a middleman to help bring the bigger picture into focus, which I continue to do in my work now."

Victoria works for a clinical research company that focuses on driving medicine forward. "In my position, I work among departments to create ancillary documents, convert study-specific documents into built-out clinical visits, and assist in study management and quality assurance to ensure source materials stay current for our trials across thirty-three locations and eighteen states. Berea helped foster my love for people and showed me that mission and people far exceed any one job."

Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Jean-Paul worked on the recruitment project with Victoria and their team and also worked on a cost-savings project and a fee-tracking project. "This was my first experience in a corporate setting where I learned professional communication, ownership, mentorship, from Layla and others in the company, and teamwork as I worked on this project with Victoria," said Jean-Paul. "I was able to gain confidence through this internship as a whole and it really helped me leverage the skills I gained to pivot to a finance internship at CoBank the following year. This would eventually help me secure a full-time role as an associate on the real estate track at PNC Bank after graduation." There Jean-Paul rotates within the Tax Credit Investments Group, one of the largest providers of equity and debt in affordable multi-family housing.

"I have gained valuable exposure to large real estate developments, deal structuring, investor requirements, financial modeling, risk analysis, and market research," said Jean-Paul. "Without that first internship at The Resource Group my sophomore year, I'm not sure if I would be in the position I'm in today."

Layla shared that Berea students bring with them a unique blend of resilience, humility, and drive. Beyond grit, Berea students bring a spirit of innovation. "They are creative critical thinkers who don't just complete assignments, they reimagine them," said Layla. "During internships, I have seen students challenge assumptions, propose fresh solutions, and bring a perspective that broadens how teams approach problems. They are, in many ways, movers and shakers. They are not content to simply maintain the status quo, but eager to leave things better than they found them."

"Mentoring them is about recognizing their immense potential and ensuring they have the tools, guidance, and encouragement to fully step into it," said Layla. "My hope has always been to serve as both a resource and a reminder: that they belong in every room they enter, and that their contributions are not just welcomed, but needed."

Since the inception of the collaborative effort between The Resource Group and Berea's Office of Internships & Career Development in 2012, there have been nine Berea student interns, including Layla, at the Resource Group, and five Berea alumni who became full-time employees with the company.