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High-tech Focus Attracts Moore to NC State Jenkins MBA

“I am attending school on student loans and did not want a mountain of debt upon graduation,” he said. “The monetary investment for two years in this program is definitely worth it in the end.”

Part of that value is seen in the internship and network building opportunities available through the program. “The college has developed close relationships with many of the companies in Research Triangle Park and understands that MBAs entering the workforce must have a firm understanding of technology and the role it plays in today’s global marketplace,” he said.

His summer 2008 internship in IBM’s Extreme Blue program put him in the midst of a technology driven, global environment.

Moore said he first heard of the Extreme Blue internship from a friend working at IBM. “I then researched the program more online, and introduced myself to Extreme Blue recruiters when they visited campus,” Moore said. He chose the internship because it was unique.

“Extreme Blue is IBM’s premier internship for top-notch students pursuing software development and MBA degrees,” Moore said. “In this program, an MBA student is matched with three technical students and the team is given a real problem that requires an innovative solution. The team has complete ownership over the project and has 12 weeks to deliver a final solution.”

One of the most important take-aways from the experience, he said, “was the network I created while working for IBM. Each week, the Extreme Blue teams brief IBM executives on our projects and at the end of the summer, the groups are flown to IBM’s headquarters in Armonk, NY, for a North American expo. This exposure and opportunity to meet so many of the leaders within the organization was an amazing opportunity to network and learn about career options,” he said.

“The experience opened my eyes to the incredible amount of opportunities for MBAs within IBM,” Moore said. “The company needs more than just software developers and computer scientists. It also needs people with marketing, supply chain, operations, finance, and consulting skills. The Extreme Blue experience has impacted my future plans by placing IBM at the top of the list for companies where I would like to begin a career.”