Contact:
Mike Ferlazzo
570-577-3212
570-238-6266 (c)
mike.ferlazzo@bucknell.edu
LEWISBURG, Pa. (August 11, 2026) – On a park-like campus just outside Philadelphia, Haden Williams ’27 spent her summer gaining experience in a field she hadn’t initially considered.
Williams, a markets, innovation & design major in the Freeman College of Management, didn’t envision herself at a financial services firm. Her interests leaned more toward consumer behavior and the psychology behind decision-making.
That perspective began to shift after a conversation with Danielle O’Sullivan ’24, who encouraged Williams to explore opportunities at her employer, Vanguard. O’Sullivan told Williams about Vanguard’s North Star Experiential Learning Program, a two-week virtual experience that introduces students to the company and its internship pathways. Williams applied, interviewed and landed a business leadership internship with Vanguard’s global brand marketing team.
Based in Malvern, Pa., and living on Villanova’s campus with fellow interns, Williams supported research on consumer behavior for Vanguard’s personal wealth division. The work reinforced ideas she first encountered at Bucknell University, particularly in an Understanding Consumers course she took with Professor Ankita Kumar, markets, innovation & design.
“We were trying to understand what people want, why they make the choices they do, and what’s getting in the way when they don’t,” says Williams, who is from East Stroudsburg, Pa. “It’s storytelling grounded in data.”
Although she expected to gravitate toward the creative side of marketing, Williams says she is now drawn to the analytical side.
“The projects that I worked on — analyzing patterns in different generations — were really interesting,” she says. “I found a lot of value in having this experience and seeing how research translates into decision-making.”
The internship has also broadened her career aspirations. Williams says she hopes to return to Vanguard after graduation through the company’s accelerated career development program.
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Photo by April Gamiz