Cunanan Center staffer helps students prepare for career success

Helping students land a job before or as soon as they graduate from ECU has become Melissa Parks’ ’00, ’02 passion. She is currently an associate director and internship coordinator in the College of Business’s Cunanan Center for Professional Success.

“There is nothing more rewarding than when a student stops by to share that they’ve secured an interview, landed an internship or accepted a job offer,” Parks said.

There was a time when Parks was in the same place as the students she works with daily. She is a product of the COB, earning her BSBA and then went right into her MBA. She was an intern as a student. She then went into industry for 17 years, where she hired interns. So, she has a wealth of experience that can resonate with and help current COB students.  

“Having worked in the Greenville community, I also understand the strength and potential of our regional employers,” Parks said. “This position allows me to connect bright, talented College of Business students with local organizations – strengthening both student success and regional economic development.”

Typically, Parks collaborates with a broad network of community partners, including regional and national employers and nonprofits. Parks said these organizations are looking to engage ECU students for internships and full-time opportunities.

These relationships are setting the stage for a new initiative – one that she is really excited about – to help both students and industry partners. Parks is very busy helping to launch the inaugural Manufacturing ENC Career Fair. What’s unique about this event is that it is a collaborative partnership between the College of Business and the College of Engineering and Technology. It is designed to intentionally connect ECU students with more than 35 manufacturing employers across eastern North Carolina. Parks said the Manufacturing ENC Career Fair was created to strengthen the talent pipeline within the region ECU serves, while also showcasing opportunities available to ECU students right here in eastern North Carolina. She added that it aligns with ECU’s mission of student success and regional transformation.

While she is knee-deep working to make the Manufacturing ENC Career Fair a success, she doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. She wants the light to shine brightly on ECU’s students.

“Every day, I review resumes that reflect not only academic achievement, but engagement beyond the classroom. Many of our students balance full course loads with part-time jobs, internships, leadership roles in student organizations and volunteer service throughout eastern North Carolina,” Parks said. “We truly have an exceptional group of talented, driven, and community-minded students in ECU’s College of Business.”

If her day job wasn’t enough, Parks is currently pursuing her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership at ECU. She said her dissertation focuses on the importance of internships for first-generation students in the COB.

“I believe strongly in the power of experiential learning, and I am proud to contribute to that mission at ECU,” Parks said.

But what really seems to drive Parks is the response she gets from students who have had success. She beams with happiness when talking about text messages out of the blue, thanking her for her guidance, handwritten thank-you notes she’s received from students and students telling her she calmed them during stressful times.

“These little moments are powerful reminders of why this work matters,” Parks said. “Supporting students as they build confidence, pursue opportunities and step into their futures is extremely meaningful.”