Double Del power couple

This summer, married University of Delaware MBA students Nabila Briste and Tahseef Reza proved that partnership can be a powerful career asset. Working with UD's Lerner Career Services to secure competitive internships at Sallie Mae and JPMorgan Chase, they gained lessons in leadership, trust and communication that will shape their futures.

From Dhaka to Delaware

The couple's story began in Dhaka, Bangladesh, when they briefly worked in the same office. On Briste's last day, she brought Twix bars to share with colleagues.

"When I handed one to Tahseef, he thought I had given it just to him," she said. "For a sweet moment, he thought it was special."

Months later, they reconnected through mutual friends, discovering shared interests in travel, deep conversations and ambitious goals. That "Twix moment," as they call it, was the first chapter of a journey that eventually brought them from Bangladesh to Delaware.

"We wanted to expand our global perspective and gain exposure to diverse business environments," said Briste. "The U.S. offered the perfect environment to blend classroom learning with real-world opportunities, while also allowing us to grow both professionally and personally."

Reza added that their career aspirations also factored in their decision. "In our organizations, we saw trainers come in from Western headquarters to guide us. I was in fintech, influenced by companies like Visa, while Nabila worked in telecommunications with inspiration from T-Mobile and Verizon. We wanted to learn at the source."

When they discovered UD's Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, the choice became clear.

"Delaware is a hidden treasure," Reza said. "Few people know it's a financial hub, with offices for JPMorgan, Barclays, Bank of America, Sallie Mae and more. Add in Lerner's FinTech Innovation Hub and the industry connections, and it made perfect sense."

Finding a new home

Arriving in Newark in spring 2024, the couple faced the challenge of starting graduate school in a new country.

"The hardest part wasn't leaving everything behind," Reza said. "It was honestly adjusting to the weather. We come from a tropical country, where winter is 18 degrees Celsius [65 degrees Fahrenheit]. Suddenly, Delaware winters felt extreme."

Support from the Lerner community helped them adjust.

"From the day we were admitted, the administrators were in contact with us, checking if we had a place to live and helping us navigate everything," Reza said. "On orientation day, Bishakha Choudhuri, an admissions specialist, made it feel like home."

Hands-on internships

With guidance from Lerner Career Services, Briste interned with Sallie Mae, while Reza joined JPMorgan Chase as a summer associate in the Chase Associate Program. Both experiences tested their skills, expanded their professional networks and gave them a clearer vision for the future.

"It's been incredible to see how the concepts we've learned in the MBA program translate directly into impact at work," Briste said. "In the MBA program, we learned how to find the 'why' behind a problem instead of just reacting to it."

At Sallie Mae, Briste created a digital dashboard that automatically tracked student loan performance by connecting data sources and replacing manual spreadsheets.

"I wrote code to pull the right numbers, like how many students are applying for loans and how many are falling behind on payments," she said. "This made it easier and faster for the team to spot problems and opportunities."

Reza worked on JPMorgan Chase's performance monitoring systems.

"I built tools that act like a health monitor for our systems, showing when and where things slow down or stop working," he said. "By spotting patterns in those issues, I helped the team fix problems faster and keep them from happening again."

Reza and Briste said the internships taught them lessons they hadn't learned in the classroom.

"What stood out to me most is that success isn't only about technical skills," Reza said. "Personal branding, communication and building relationships are just as important. I've learned to position myself as someone who can bridge technical insight with strategic decision-making. That skill will shape my career going forward."

"It's not enough to do great work; you need to make sure the right people see the value you bring," Briste said.

Another surprise was how approachable leaders could be.

"I didn't expect that a coffee chat could turn into mentorship or open doors to new projects," Briste said. "But senior leaders have been incredibly welcoming."

Preparation and support

According to Jessica Venturi, assistant director of Lerner Career Services, Lerner's internship support is designed to help students thrive.

"Our goal is to give graduate students both opportunity and support," Venturi said. "It's highly competitive; fewer than 10% of eligible candidates secure offers each year, so we focus on preparing them to compete successfully."