It is late fall in 2025, and a small group dressed in business attire is pitching ideas for a marketing campaign to decision-makers at Lansing Duckpin, a new establishment in East Lansing for duckpin bowling — a version of bowling with smaller balls, pins and lanes.

On the other side of the room, patrons are bowling while the business is open for a private party. The clang of wooden pins dropping and rolling along the lane are followed by loud cheers.

For the Michigan State University students pitching their campaign ideas, it is hardly an ideal environment. But that’s the whole point.

“It’s not always going to be the easiest, quietest, calmest environment where you can control all the variables,” Tiffany Wahl says of her integrated advertising campaigns course. “In fact, we know we can’t control anything most of the time.” Wahl is a professor of practice in advertising and public relations in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at MSU, where her students in this course create capstone projects for real businesses in Lansing.

The experience mirrors the challenges graduates may face in their careers. And it’s just one example of how Spartans are gaining professional experience while still earning their degrees.

Across campus, students are consulting for businesses, launching record labels, managing large-scale events and solving real-world problems for clients. By the time Spartans walk across the commencement stage, they have already developed the skills, confidence and experience employers seek.

Wahl, whose classes have also pitched campaigns to local businesses like the Lansing Lugnuts baseball team and Lansing Shuffle social hall, says her students continue to impress her and are proving that they are ready to jump into careers. For Lansing Duckpin, the students devised strategies that included tailgates; name, image and likeness partnerships; and even a 10-foot-tall inflatable duck wearing an MSU jersey (unfortunately, it didn’t fit the business’s budget).

“We teach students a lot of things,” Wahl says. “How to read and analyze information. But we also teach them how to communicate and receive communication back. Because at the end of the day, we are also trying to help them enter a career they can be proud of. Isn’t that a big part of what we’re doing here at MSU?”

Why employers notice Spartans

MSU graduates have always been in demand. In the Global Employability University Ranking 2025, published by Times Higher Education, Michigan State was ranked No. 8 among U.S. public universities and No. 31 in the country overall among universities that recruiters at top companies believe best prepare students for the workplace.

The university boasts a 93% placement rate for bachelor’s degree graduates within six months of graduation. The impact is felt most in the state of Michigan, where more than 60% of those MSU graduates are employed.

Many of those students are jumping into careers with experience — 77% of undergraduates complete an internship during their time at MSU. The Career Services Network plays a big part in helping students land those internships and jobs after graduation.

There are more opportunities across campus, too. Students are even jumping right into projects to help build businesses from the ground up. A key element of their success is having supportive faculty mentors showing them the ropes.

Starting from scratch

When Austin Oting Har arrived on campus in the fall of 2025, one of his main priorities was starting a record label. He went straight to work, including undergraduates in the process from the start.

“As a label based at MSU,” Har says, “it’s important that students feel their voices heard throughout the process. This presented a unique opportunity for them.” Har is an assistant professor in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, which will merge with the College of Arts and Letters on July 1. He has been thrilled with what students have brought to the table in building a business from the ground up.

One step was coming up with a name, and the student representatives delivered. Cole Carlson, a junior majoring in arts and humanities, suggested Bogue Street Records, after the street where the record company lives, and the name stuck.

Carlson is the social media manager for Bogue Street Records and helps with public relations. “The lack of precedent makes the work exciting,” Carlson says. “The label has so much room to expand and figure out what it is going to be, and it feels like the potential is endless. This also makes it challenging, as every decision feels very important.”

The name was only the beginning. To get the record company up and running, under the guidance of Har, students worked with a graphic designer to create a logo, gave input on a website and have helped with bookings and artist scouting. In February, the label released two albums by Lansing-based artists, and the goal is to grow from there. Har is interested in working with student musicians and artists in the future.

He also hopes that the students who are working on the label will be able to take the skills they’re developing and apply them to their careers — whether in the music industry or another field.

“The students working with Bogue Street Records are seeing that it is quite a commitment,” Har says. “It requires discipline. And it shows that you need to be willing to continue to learn and refine your craft. That will give you a chance to stand out.”

Becoming experts by lending expertise

A degree from MSU provides immediate and lasting value — not only for graduates, but also for the institutions bringing Spartans on board. For some companies, they feel the impact of Spartans before they graduate.

In the Broad College of Business, multiple student organizations are focused on helping nonprofits and other organizations in different capacities. Spectrum Consulting Group, MSU Students Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations, 180 Degrees Consulting and Sustainable Initiatives Consulting are all student-run groups offering services in Michigan and beyond.

“As a student consulting organization, our goal is to serve clients while equipping students with the skills they need to succeed in their careers,” says Fida Rahman, a senior who is the president of Spectrum Consulting Group. He is currently an intern at an investment banking firm. “In practice, our group receives guided, tailored training during their first semester, while also being staffed on five-figure paid engagements that allow them to experience high-level consulting work as college students.”

Rahman says, “I find myself naturally integrating into my role because of the development I’ve had through Spectrum. The lessons I’ve learned continue to shape who I am, and the community I’ve built is what truly makes MSU feel like home.”

Spectrum Consulting Group has been active on campus since 2016 and has worked with over 45 clients, providing services ranging from strategic planning and market research to supply chain and process implementation. Currently, 26 students from a diverse background of majors, minors and industry experiences are active members of the group. From the executive board team to project managers, consultants and business analysts, Spectrum Consulting Group is providing valuable insights to its clients.

The group has worked with Rocket Lab, Teach for America and other industries, including transportation and higher education. The supply chain team at Rocket Lab wrote in a testimonial, “The Spectrum team was attentive, well managed and professional. Each member on the team had a unique background that contributed to the project in a meaningful way. We appreciate their help and have made use of their research.”

Prepped for prime time

In the School of Hospitality Business, students have run a fine-dining experience for 75 years. The organization Les Gourmets hosts a black-tie gala each year where every detail — from the menu to the décor — is planned and executed by hospitality students.

Layla Dagle, a recent graduate who served as the CEO of Les Gourmets in 2026, wrote of her experience, “Serving as CEO taught me many important skills, such as delegation, organization and leadership, but the most impactful lesson I learned was flexibility. In events, things don’t always go as planned. Timelines shift, guests arrive late and unexpected challenges arise. I learned how to adapt in the moment, stay composed under pressure and lead with a solutions-oriented mindset.”

Across campus in the Communication Arts and Sciences building, Greg Taucher meets with the group leading 42pointSEVEN, a “student-run, faculty-guided integrated marketing communications agency helping organizations make meaningful connections through strategic conviction, creative vision and purposeful solutions.”

Working with departments on campus, organizations like the Greater Lansing Orchid Society and businesses like Merrell, the agency does everything from creative design, social media and email marketing, video production, infographics, posters, media production, brand strategy and more.

“People often compare the 42pointSEVEN experience to an internship,” says Taucher, a Hopp Faculty Fellow and professor of practice in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences and faculty guide for 42pointSEVEN. “Honestly, that’s setting the bar too low. Internships expose students to the profession. At 42pointSEVEN, they’re already practicing it. They’re serving real clients, tackling real business challenges, developing strategic recommendations, creating deliverables and presenting ideas that have real-world consequences. The work matters because the outcomes matter.”

Spartans will . . . hire Spartans

In the late fall of 2025, Allysen Davenport was one of the undergraduates presenting to the team at Lansing Duckpin. Her group pitched social media campaigns and Thursday night football watch parties at the venue. With over 40 slides to present, the pitch went well.

Davenport graduated in May and is currently an intern in mortgage sales with Consumer Credit Union. She says the hands-on experience creating an integrated marketing campaign made her feel more ready for a job after her time at MSU. “Working alongside the Lansing Duckpin team allowed me to immerse myself in real-world experience while gaining additional skills in campaign planning, marketing, public relations and creative thinking,” Davenport says. “Building a brand to fit the long- and short-term goals of the business was a very special opportunity that made me feel more career ready.”

For Wahl, the faculty member leading the course, students get a real look at the working world. It helps students develop skills ranging from ideation to public speaking, which Wahl says are important even if a career doesn’t seem public facing, as employees often must present ideas to colleagues and managers.

Courses like Wahl’s and programs like 42pointSEVEN are working. Wahl has had students go onto agencies like Campbell Ewald, Publicis, Doner and more, and to major corporations like Google, Pinterest and NBCUniversal. Taucher is proud that 93% of students who worked with 42pointSEVEN are currently employed in the agency/marketing communications industry. One alum, according to Taucher, saw their first network television commercial air during a recent NASCAR broadcast.

Setting graduates up for success is Wahl’s goal, and she believes her class showcases that the Spartans entering industries are ready to excel. And she has a hunch many employers who are Spartan alums agree with her. “We always say, ‘Spartans will,’” Wahl says, “and Spartans will hire other Spartans.”