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NC State Jenkins MBA students receive consumer research fellowships

Four Jenkins MBA students in the NC State Poole College of Management were awarded fellowships by the college’s Consumer Innovation Consortium (CIC).

Two of the fellowships were awarded to first-year MBA students Leah Haile and Eric Flood, and two were awarded to second-year MBA students Scott Barnes and Lauren Wright. The fellowships provide a $12,000 stipend and tuition support.

Admitted first year and continuing second year Jenkins MBA students interested in the fellowship may apply by contacting Jen Arthur in the Jenkins MBA Admissions Office for an application and details. Candidates are expected to commit to the Jenkins MBA  program’s marketing management concentration.

Following are the 2013-14 Consumer Innovation Consortium Fellows.

Leah Haile, First-year Design Fellow

Haile is in her first year in the Jenkins MBA program, concentrating in marketing and entrepreneurship. She graduated from the NC State College of Design in May 2013 with a degree in graphic design and has worked as a designer for Revealed Design, Community Food Lab, and NC State Campus Enterprises. Haile also is a volunteer English teacher with the City of Raleigh Parks and Recreation. As a Design Fellow, she will be focusing her research on consumer behavior and interaction design. She ultimately plans to own and run her own branding and identity firm.  She is originally from Ashville, N.C.

Eric Flood, First-year CIC Fellow

Eric Flood is in his first year in the Jenkins MBA program, concentrating in marketing and entrepreneurship. He received his bachelor’s degree from NC State College of Design in graphic design, and has prior work experience with non-profits, startups, and branding studios including the Institute for Emerging Issues and New Kind. 

“My career goals are to bring a focus of user experience into startup culture,” Flood said. “I want to work with businesses in their early stages of development to build an internal brand focusing on user-driven experience. This infuses interaction design, entrepreneurship, and marketing into business design which has become very pertinent in the startup boom that is taking place in the U.S. and abroad,” he said.

“Digital tools are solving more of the world's problems. I want to help build those tools with a knowledge of consumers, interaction and brand strategy, and business development. The CIC allows me to work with likeminded people and possibly meet interesting corporate partners,” Flood said. His hometown is Holly Springs, N.C.

Scott Barnes, Second-year CIC Fellow

Scott Barnes, Jenkins MBA 2014, is completing a marketing concentration with a focus in consumer behavior. He served as a summer 2013 customer insights intern with Ashton Woods Homes. Prior to joining the Jenkins MBA program, Barnes had leadership positions in both yacht manufacturing and luxury home construction. He received his bachelor of arts degree in anthropology from Concordia University in Canada, and holds numerous licenses and certifications in the construction and maritime industries.

Originally from small town in Connecticut and more recently residing in Cambridge, Mass., Barnes said he decided to make the move to south “to take advantage of the unique opportunities the Jenkins MBA program provides for students to work closely with industry on real projects that will have a significant impact on business.”

“The entire Jenkins MBA program has been just spectacular,” he said, adding that he derives the greatest value from his experience in the CIC and working directly with the CIC’s corporate partners, Dr. Wood, and Dr. Reid.

“I came to the Jenkins program with a lot of professional work experience but none in marketing or consumer psychology. It would have been extremely difficult if not impossible for me to make the transition without the Jenkins program or the CIC. I certainly never would have had the opportunity to apprentice under an academic of Dr. Wood’s caliber or to learn directly from executive leadership at companies like Cotton Inc. and Ashton Woods. It’s truly been a remarkable opportunity,” he said.

On completion of the MBA program, Barnes said he looks forward to applying the skills he has gained in the CIC and in his internship in a customer insights role.

“I like that the understandings I gain of customer needs, motivations, and behaviors can drive product innovation, business strategy, and lead to profit growth. That’s what I want to do immediately after I graduate and I know this experience will ultimately fuel my own growth as I advance in my career,” Barnes said. His hometown is East Haddam, Conn.

Lauren Wright, Second-year CIC Fellow

Lauren Wright, Jenkins MBA 2014, is completing her concentration in marketing. 

After graduating in 2009 from NC State’s College of Textiles with a concentration in brand management and marketing, she accepted a marketing position with the Carolina Ballet.  To diversify her skillset, she then joined Progress Energy in its corporate finance division. 

She said she decided to attend the Jenkins MBA program because of the excellent education she received from NC State as an undergraduate as well as the opportunity to gain experience working with prominent companies. 

“I had the pleasure of working with Cotton Incorporated during the spring semester and I was able to use this experience to help me obtain my summer internship,” says Wright.  This past summer, she interned with Bayer HealthCare in its brand management department. 

Wright returned to the program in fall 2013 as a Consumer Innovation Consortium Fellow.  “I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity that this fellowship affords, to work closely with accomplished faculty such as Dr. Stacy Wood and Dr. Colbey Reid,” she said.  Wright plans to pursue a career in marketing, preferably one in which she can utilize all her consumer behavior knowledge and experience gained through working with Dr. Wood and Dr. Reid and the Consumer Innovation Practicum. Her hometown is Raleigh, N.C.

In the Photo

CIC Fellows are, left to right: Eric Flood, Leah Haile, Scott Barnes, and Lauren Wright.