{"id":29930,"date":"2026-05-29T10:13:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/?p=29930"},"modified":"2026-05-29T17:14:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:14:05","slug":"blog-building-tomorrows-professionals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/2026\/05\/29\/blog-building-tomorrows-professionals\/","title":{"rendered":"Building tomorrow\u2019s professionals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Terriers share about their time working student internships at BU, and how their experiences helped prepare them for their careers.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By Krysti Chen (COM’26) and Gillian Mahoney | Published May 2026<\/em><\/p>\n

James Trubiano (CAS\u201913,MET\u201927)<\/strong> initially took a job as a student caller in Boston University\u2019s Telefund program during his freshman year to help pay for everyday expenses. Sure enough, he found steady employment and made enough money to stretch through each month. But he didn\u2019t expect his internship to become more than just a paycheck. Eventually, it turned into a lasting passion that helped him discover a new career path.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was only at BU because of financial aid scholarships, and I needed to work there in order to get food, weekend money, and other fun stuff,\u201d Trubiano recalls. \u201cBut I fell in love with fundraising and the Advancement department, and I learned about ways I could help future BU students through my work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Telefund program, which is run out of BU\u2019s Student Philanthropy Center (SPC)<\/a>, offers student callers the opportunity to engage with the larger BU community through inspiring annual giving participation and building relationships with donors. <\/p>\n

Trubiano, who majored in history and sociology, felt that his time working at Telefund was a way for him to develop professionally outside of his classes. The program gave him valuable leadership experience as well as a crash course in fundraising and plain old people skills.<\/p>\n

\"James\u201cI learned not to be afraid to ask folks for something,\u201d Trubiano says as he remembers his numerous phone calls. It was scary to pick up the phone for his first few calls, but the kindness and generosity of the BU community gave him confidence.<\/p>\n

While he enjoyed the thrill of events such as the \u201cTele-lympics,\u201d a challenge in which student callers competed to raise the most money of the semester, Trubiano loved chatting with alumni about Terrier pride and making a positive impact for the University. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven if I didn\u2019t get a donation, I still made a connection with them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

It was this knack for building relationships that paved the way for Trubiano\u2019s rise from student caller, to supervisor, to a senior supervisor role that entailed leading professional development programs for his peers. And it eventually landed him a full-time job a few years after he graduated.<\/p>\n

After being away from the BU sphere for some time, Trubiano received a call one day from a Telefund student caller asking him to give. After swapping Telefund stories, he learned that the student philanthropy manager role was open. <\/p>\n

He dropped everything. \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh my goodness. Maybe this is my calling. Maybe it\u2019s time to come back and help out the University.\u2019 I applied that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Trubiano serves as the associate director of annual giving in the Advancement department and manages the Student Philanthropy Center. He mentors student callers and supervisors and provides them with guidance to help them advance in their leadership roles and future careers. It\u2019s rewarding for him to give advice to students who are on journeys similar to his own.<\/p>\n

Looking back, Trubiano reflects on how his internship broadened his horizons. \u201cStudent jobs can really help you learn about different professions and ways to apply skillsets that you\u2019re developing as a student that you may never have thought of before.\u201d <\/p>\n

Communicating with confidence<\/h3>\n

On top of juggling classes and her social life, Maddie Theingi<\/strong> held multiple student jobs at BU, working in the Telefund program and as an alumni operations office assistant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking at Telefund was actually my first job,\u201d Theingi says. \u201cWhen I was looking for jobs at BU, I wanted to find something that was similar to what I wanted to do in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

She worked her way up to being a Telefund student supervisor and an alumni operations student manager. Theingi was dedicated to training younger students, and developed strong leadership skills throughout her BU career. She cites her go-getter spirit as the main factor that propelled her growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople like to see you consistently stick with the job,\u201d she recalls. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t about you working as a student caller in the beginning, but that you were able to get promoted. So people want to see that trajectory, because you were able to advance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MaddieTheingi knows that working with seasoned professionals can be intimidating for many students. However, her internships provided her with the opportunity to refine her interpersonal skills and gain confidence in communicating effectively with senior leadership\u2014something she would rely on every day in her career ahead.<\/p>\n

Theingi, who studied finance and information systems at Questrom School of Business, currently works as a financial analyst at Agero. Since she works on a small team, she collaborates closely with senior-level colleagues. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing I learned was communication skills. In alumni relations, you see higher-end people a lot,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are so many directors, and you also talk to vice presidents and high-level donors. And in my current job, I work with the C-Suite. I think now, having that experience was really helpful to me because I know how to communicate with higher-level stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tight-knit bonds that last<\/h3>\n

Tee Kiengsiri\u2019s (COM\u201925)<\/strong> days are a whirlwind as he creates buzzworthy video campaigns, proposes media plans, and writes website copy as a business development and account director at the advertising agency CHANNEL338. But Kiengsiri is no stranger to the fast-paced world of digital marketing, having pursued his master\u2019s degree in advertising and worked as a social media and video intern at BU.<\/p>\n

\"TeeAs an intern, Kiensgiri researched social media trends, brainstormed video concepts, and shot and edited content. One memorable project involved working with the Center for Brain Recovery<\/a>, where he shot a video interview<\/a> with director Dr. Swathi Kiran about the Center\u2019s initiatives and research on neurological disorders. <\/p>\n

Amidst the hustle of engaging audiences across platforms, Kiengsiri\u2019s internship also allowed him to experience the routine of a full-time job in an office environment before entering the post-graduation workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cI treated this job almost like a 9-5, so it prepared me for a real job as well,\u201d he says. \u201cResponsibilities wise, it was like a stepping stone. You start small and then you learn more things.\u201d <\/p>\n

On top of learning to communicate and collaborate in a professional setting, Kiengsiri also developed valuable connections through his position. He fostered a close bond with his supervisor, Samuel Mauri, assistant director of social media in Advancement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think Sam was one of, if not the best boss I\u2019ve ever had, and I genuinely had a great time working at BU because of him and other people on the team,\u201d Kiengsiri recalls. \u201cI still keep in contact with him now and then.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Trubiano, Theingi, and Kiengsiri, their experiences in their respective roles has helped prepare them for their careers. From growing professionally, to gaining confidence in a variety of skills, and expanding their networks, interning at BU was a vital stepping stone for each Terrier to become the professionals they are today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Terriers share how their student internships prepared them for their careers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25867,"featured_media":30147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13,5],"tags":[95,1409,383],"featured_img":"\/alumni\/files\/2026\/05\/BUAA-interns-4-1-e1780087880869.png","agg_excerpt":"Terriers share how their student internships prepared them for their careers.","agg_title":"Building tomorrow\u2019s professionals","media_icon":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29930"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25867"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29930"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30155,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29930\/revisions\/30155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}