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Classroom to career

Top Dallas-area employers seek SMU students for internships and jobs. And our alumni love connecting our students to their industry networks to make career moves.

World-ready,
industry-prepared

With Dallas as their classroom, students have the flexibility to pursue multiple areas of study and get ready for the jobs of the future.

MUSTANGS SAY:

Guidance from SMU mentors and startup funding from SMU programs – such as Engaged Learning, Big iDeas and the Meadows Exploration Award – helped me achieve my dream of opening my own business. I can support myself while pursuing professional work as an actor.

Alysia Giakoumas ’21, Founder/CEO, The Playground Acting Program LLC

Lightbulb Idea

Internships

Build experience before applying for a job. SMU integrates internships and experiential/applied learning opportunities outside of the classroom. Connect with leaders and employers in fields that interest you.
Will Goldberg

Top employers come to SMU

After morning football practice, Will Goldberg ’23, who plays safety for the SMU Mustangs, pulls on his steel-toed boots and walks to his internship jobsite located on the SMU campus, where he is an assistant project manager for the Cox School of Business building renovations. He scored the meaningful position after attending an SMU Lyle School of Engineering career fair, where he met Harold MacDowell ’84, CEO of Dallas-based construction firm TDIndustries, Inc., who’s also an SMU alumnus. After one more interview, the mechanical engineering major and math minor was all in. “The three buildings are at different stages, so I’m seeing the whole process,” Goldberg says.

It’s special to work on your own campus and be a part of something that’s going to be there for a very long time.” Will Goldberg ’23

Swarangi Potdar

Faculty care about students’ goals

Swarangi Potdar ’25 secured a newly created internship with the Dallas Museum of Art, doing curatorial research for the museum’s permanent collection of American art. “It’s an important career builder for students on a museum career track,” says Stephanie Langin-Hooper, associate professor in SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, who worked with the DMA and SMU’s Hegi Family Career Development Center to create the new position. Potdar, who double majors in finance at SMU Cox School and visual arts at the Meadows School, volunteered with the DMA as a teen ambassador while in high school. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in art auctions.

Being surrounded with historic artworks is beyond exciting. I look forward to expanding my visual and quantitative skills at analyzing artwork.” Swarangi Potdar ’25

Olivia Martello

Hands-on experience in a field of interest

Olivia Martello ’21 got to detect a fetal heartbeat on her very first day of an internship at White Rock Obstetrics and Gynecology, in Dallas, a fulfilling position she landed thanks to a referral from a classmate and sorority sister at SMU. Martello graduated from SMU’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development with a Bachelor of Science degree in applied physiology and health management, and minored in biological sciences. She continues to prepare for a healthcare career as she finishes up emergency medical technician school and applies to physician assistant programs.

I gained medical knowledge and experienced incredible patient-care interactions.” Olivia Martello ’21

jasmine smith

Alumni connections can launch careers

Jasmine Smith ’22, ’23 worked on a master’s degree in management and an MBA at SMU Cox School while playing on the women’s basketball team. Thanks to SMU’s Life After Ball program, which helps student-athletes build connections and develop career preparation skills, Smith landed an internship with Dallas-based Hunt Realty Investments, a Life After Ball corporate participant run by SMU alumni Chris Kleinert ’88. Smith recently completed a commercial real estate training program with CRE Analyst.

I appreciated the willingness of SMU alumni to reach out and stay connected with current students.” Jasmine Smith ’22, ’23

Innovation hub

Big D was innovating before it was cool. More than 60 years ago, Dallas became the birthplace of the integrated circuit, which would become the microchip. Today, we’re home to startup warriors, cyber defenders, biotech wizards and other innovators who think big and do good.
incubator

Connecting Entrepreneurs

Incubator@SMU – SMU students, faculty and staff who want to launch companies use this business-focused workspace to collaborate with customers, mentors and other entrepreneurs from the Dallas area and beyond.

Incubator startups span a variety of industries, including arts, consumer products, consulting, education, technology and more.

Seun Suberu

Bold idea becomes a business

Seun Suberu ’23 co-founded the CollegePlus app to help high school students take control of their future. Throughout his SMU student career, Suberu honed new business skills and earned more than $85,000 in funding through multiple SMU competitions designed to jump-start student-led innovation.

Variety of industries

From health care and energy to finance and technology, the nation’s fourth largest metropolitan area is home to a diverse mix of industries, driving economic growth and employment opportunities.
Matt Alexander

As one of America’s most connected cities, Dallas makes it easy to do business. About 23 Fortune 500 companies think so, too. Our diverse economy is an engine of talent and opportunities, propelling many of our graduates into prominent leadership positions in the area and beyond. Our industry connections include a variety of notable alumni:  

  • Matt Alexander ’10, co-founder and CEO, Neighborhood Goods (pictured)
  • David Cush ’82, ’83, former president and CEO, Virgin America
  • David Huntley ’80, Sr. Executive VP & CCO at AT&T
  • Joe Lawrence ’90, EVP and COO, Porsche
  • Thear Sy Suzuki ’96, Americas advisory talent leader, Ernst & Young
  • Amber Venz Box ’08 and Baxter Box ’11, founders, rewardStyle and LTK

Movers and shakers

The can-do spirit of Dallas is part of SMU's DNA. Here, bold, curious and creative SMU alumni are driven to think big and do good.
Whitney Wolfe Herd

Bold, curious and creative SMU alumni are driven to think big:

  • Courtney Caldwell ’00, co-founder, ShearShare
  • Stuart Edenfield ’07 and Curtis Edenfield ’09, co-founders, Thrive Aviation
  • Brittany Merrill Underwood ’06, founder and executive chairman, Akola Jewelry
  • Whitney Wolfe Herd ’11, founder and CEO, Bumble Inc. (pictured)

handshake

MUSTANGS SAY:

Students enjoy the culture of Dallas while also networking and becoming more involved in Dallas’ growing business hub.

Jo Lew ’23

Where you go to college matters.

You owe it to yourself to take advantage of remarkable growth opportunities through SMU and Dallas, an incredible university-city partnership. Visit us so you can see yourself here.

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