The Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington announced on Mar. 1 that its consultancy program continues to grow, offering students opportunities to work with a range of organizations both locally and internationally.
The program is designed to give undergraduate and graduate students practical experience by engaging them in real-world consulting projects for nonprofits, public agencies, and companies. Students provide market research, financial analysis, operational streamlining, and strategic planning that organizations can implement.
Lisa Scribner, associate dean for graduate, international and executive programs, said: “The consultancy program is truly empowering for students. When they have to integrate their knowledge and skills, they see for themselves that they’re capable and that they can do this.”
Rebecca Guidice, director of the Executive MBA Program and management professor, said the school has required consulting projects since 1975. Today’s Executive MBA (EMBA) students complete weeklong residencies partnering with local organizations under faculty guidance. Recent teams have worked with groups such as the Cameron Art Museum (CAM) and Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA), sometimes alongside international partners from schools like the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom.
Guidice said: “The EMBAs’ professional backgrounds provide both breadth and depth of practical knowledge and credibility that enable them to contribute meaningful, data-driven strategies and implementable solutions to the regional and local organizations of different sizes and types.” She added: “When visiting MBA students from partner programs in the UK and India join our consulting teams in Wilmington… These visiting MBAs also gain firsthand exposure to the economic and social landscape of southeastern North Carolina.”
At CAM, student teams helped estimate a $6.9 million annual economic impact on southeastern North Carolina. Drew Rosen led this project along with Aaron Wilcox; Rosen said: “It’s something they didn’t know before, and it changed the way they could tell their story.” CAM Executive Director Heather Wilson said: “The EMBA students gave enlightening insights into marketing… Their recommendations on social media… were helpful…”
Kenneth Waldroup ’25M from CFPUA described how student consultants challenged leadership assumptions about staffing needs: “This reinforces the wisdom of having an outside perspective to evaluate data…” Waldroup also praised his classmates’ diverse backgrounds as making “the experience more than an academic exercise; it was a true consultancy that brought value to the client.”
Internationally, Cameron EMBA students recently partnered with peers from India’s Gandhi Institute of Technology & Management (GITAM) on a Goodyear project led by Scribner. Randy Young described presenting actionable recommendations directly to company leaders during their visit.
Undergraduate business administration major Justin Hinckley ’26 reflected on his Prague-based project helping MAMS plan entry into new markets: “It was fulfilling to see the end result … knowing it had real-world value.” Ethan Watson noted these experiences develop strategic thinking skills valuable for future employers.
Faculty say growth will continue through additional international partnerships while maintaining community collaborations central to applied learning. Scribner concluded: “We’ll continue to build what’s working … More partnerships, new opportunities … same focus on applied learning.”
