MOBILE, Ala. – The Mobile Chamber was proud to have been selected as one of ten host communities for FuelAL summer programming for college students interning in the Mobile area over the summer. Fuel Alabama (FuelAL), is a talent attraction and retention program of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA), in partnership with Innovate Alabama.

Begun in 2021, FuelAL has connected undergraduate and graduate students to a region and its employers through community-building activities that showcase Alabama’s unique assets. Through this summer’s activities, interns broadened their networks and socialized with peers through professional workshops, team-building exercises and more.

Abbey Huguley the talent attraction and development manager for the Mobile Chamber said, “It’s important for interns from local universities to be a part of the program. They have been students in Mobile for about two or three years by now and we want them to get involved in the community and network with like-minded individuals such as the Young Professionals of Mobile. For the students who may have never been to Mobile, we want them to meet people in the area so they can make a friendly connection that makes them hopefully want to move here to start their career.”

This is the third year the Chamber has hosted summer internship programming, but the events were expanded this year from one event to five events. Summer programming in Mobile included two lunch and learns where interns practiced their networking skills with Ian Mohorn from Dale Carnegie of the Emerald Coast and learned valuable HR insights from Dr. Gia Wiggins with Morale Resource LLC. They also had the opportunity to attend two networking socials with the Young Professionals of Mobile (YP of MOB) where they got to learn about the work that the Community Foundation of South Alabama does for our area, and they had the opportunity to explore the USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park. They also had a breakfast reception where the interns had the opportunity to interact with community leaders such as County Commissioner Connie Hudson.

With this program, FuelAL: Mobile deepened connections and positioned Mobile, Alabama as an attractive place for students to grow roots and start their lives as young professionals. Summer intern with the Mobile Chamber Chase Picard said, “FuelAL: Mobile provided an invaluable platform for networking with local business leaders and peers. It was enlightening to hear directly from professionals about the skills and knowledge that matter in today’s job market. The program’s social events and networking breakfasts were fantastic opportunities to connect with industry leaders in a relaxed setting. It gave me a better understanding of the professional landscape in Mobile and helped me build lasting connections.”

Amya Miller, mechanical engineering intern at Outokumpu and FuelAL: Mobile participant, spoke about building connections within the company, “In college, sometimes you don’t get that reality, but to have it here is really nice. I’ve learned that a lot of people that you work with are your family and people do care about you and this is one of the companies that really does that for me.”

Highlights from FuelAL: Mobile 2024

• 102+ interns participated
• 30 different employers
• 32 different colleges and universities were represented
• 17 states + Puerto Rico were represented: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

The FuelAL: Mobile programming has wrapped up for the summer of 2024. If you are an employer hiring an intern or a student interested in participating in the summer of 2025, please reach out directly to Abbey Huguley at ahuguley@mobilechamber.com.