Welcome to IMC Career Exploration.
You earned your place in the 2026 program. This page brings the week into focus, from the schedule and expectations to the practical details that will help you arrive prepared, confident, and ready to participate.
The experience is designed to feel real from the start. You will meet leaders, explore pathways across IMC and its partner companies, build professional skills, and work through a challenge that asks you to think like a team in motion.
Orientation
Orientation is the official start of Career Exploration. It is a chance to meet your cohort, ask questions, take care of paperwork, and get your professional headshot taken — something you will walk away with and actually use. Both students and caregivers are expected to attend.
Thursday, May 28, 2026 — 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Investors Management Corporation
801 N. West St., Raleigh, NC 27603
Accessibility note: Some areas of the IMC office are accessible only by stairs. If this presents a challenge for you or a family member, please let us know in advance so we can make arrangements to ensure your comfort and full participation.
There is a small parking lot in front of the IMC office. If those spaces are filled, additional parking is available in the lot directly across the street. Look for signage and a member of the IMC team to direct you.
Both students and parents/caregivers are expected to attend Orientation Evening. During orientation, the group will split briefly — students will head upstairs to complete paperwork, take headshots, and participate in activities, while parents/caregivers gather separately downstairs for paperwork and a Q&A session.
The evening runs approximately as follows:
6:00 p.m. — Welcome and introductions
6:05 p.m. — IMC overview
6:15 p.m. — Program overview
6:30 p.m. — Students: paperwork, headshots, and activities • Caregivers: paperwork and Q&A
6:55 p.m. — Optional office tour
7:00 p.m. — Conclude
During orientation, each student will have a professional headshot taken. You will receive digital copies to keep — something useful for a résumé, LinkedIn profile, or any future professional application. Dress for orientation as you would for a professional setting; this is your first impression and a lasting one.
The schedule
Programming runs daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Students can arrive between 8:45 and 9:00 a.m. and depart between 4:30 and 4:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Friday carries the same morning rhythm, then extends into presentations, reflection, and a closing celebration that concludes at 6:00 p.m.
Before the in-person week, Erica Kinney will hold two one-hour virtual sessions for all students. Details and links will arrive by email, so inbox attention is part of being prepared. If you need help getting to and from IMC, write to careerexploration@investorsmanagement.com and arrangements can be explored directly.
Before the in-person week begins, Erica Kinney leads two required one-hour virtual sessions that introduce the Teamship framework and tools you will use throughout the program. Attendance is required for both sessions.
Session 1 — Wednesday, June 10 — 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
An introduction to Teamship followed by hands-on practice with three core tools: Questioning, Take, and Solo Flight.
Join Virtual Session 1 ▸Session 2 — Thursday, June 11 — 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
An introduction to the Design Process Tool and a walkthrough of the Design Sprint methodology students will use during the program week.
Join Virtual Session 2 ▸Questions about these sessions? Contact Erica Kinney at ekinney@collegeboard.org.
The week opens with Erica, an introduction to 801, and an overview of IMC as a company. From there, speed networking sessions bring students into short, focused conversations with leaders from executive leadership, finance and tax, human resources, operations, and business development.
The day closes with Teamship time and the launch interview with Ken Helmuth of Right at Home, which introduces the framing for the Teamship project the rest of the week will build toward.
Teamship time with Erica continues as students begin shaping their thinking and building momentum on the project. Emily Jessee leads conversations on résumé writing and the soft skills that quietly carry careers forward, followed by networking practice over lunch. The afternoon returns to Teamship time with Erica.
Students move through working sessions and a business partner check-in, then hear from program alumni who walk through what the experience unlocked for them after the week ended. Lunch is catered by Taco Bamba, followed by a session with Nick Roberts on hospitality, training, and the discipline of running a restaurant group. The day ends with additional Teamship time with Erica.
Project work continues, then shifts into a Golden Corral session with Darryl Mickler and Skip Hanke on marketing, data, and the operational reality of a national restaurant brand. Lunch is catered by Golden Corral, followed by a nonprofit panel featuring Camp Corral, Dress for Success, and A Place at the Table on community impact and purpose-driven work. The afternoon returns to Teamship time with Erica.
The final day includes continued Teamship time and a CAPTRUST session with Molly Brown and Catherine Currin on personal finance and the habits that compound over a career. After lunch, students travel to the Fleet Feet distribution center for a field trip that closes the loop between strategy and operations.
The afternoon returns to IMC for Teamship time, dry runs, and pitch presentations, followed by reflection and a dessert celebration. The day concludes at 6:00 p.m.
The Pitch Celebration is the culminating event of Career Exploration week, where students present their Teamship projects to an audience of IMC leaders, business partners, family, and friends. After five days of listening, questioning, and building, this is the moment the work goes public.
Date and time: Friday, June 26 — 4:30–6:00pm
Location: Investors Management Corporation, 801 N. West St., Raleigh, NC 27603
Parking: There is a small parking lot in front of the IMC office. If those spaces are filled, additional parking is available in the lot directly across the street. Look for signage and a member of the IMC team to direct you.
Who should come: Families, caregivers, and friends are all warmly invited to attend and celebrate alongside their students.
What to expect: Students will deliver their team pitches, followed by remarks and a celebration to close the week. Light refreshments will be available.
Accessibility note: A portion of the celebration takes place in an area of the IMC office accessible only by stairs. If mobility is a concern for any student guest, please contact us in advance at careerexploration@investorsmanagement.com so we can make appropriate arrangements.
How to prepare
A strong start comes from taking care of a few practical details ahead of time. The guidance below is meant to remove uncertainty, keep the week running smoothly, and help every student step into the room ready to engage. Read it once, act on it, and the rest takes care of itself.
Arrive at IMC by 8:45 a.m. each morning so the program can begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. Plan transportation home for 4:30 to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Friday follows the same arrival pattern, though the closing celebration extends the day to 6:00 p.m.
Dress in business casual clothing that feels polished, clean, and professional. Slacks or dress pants, collared shirts, blouses, neat dresses, and well-kept professional jeans without rips or distressing all fit the week well. Athletic wear and graphic tees should stay at home.
Bring your school Chromebook and power cord, or another parent-approved laptop, and start each day with that device fully charged. Any completed paperwork distributed at orientation should come with you as well. If obtaining a device is a barrier, write to careerexploration@investorsmanagement.com before the week begins so something can be worked out.
Phones should remain put away and on silent during sessions and speaker presentations. The week is built as a professional environment, and attention matters, both as a courtesy to guests and as a habit worth practicing.
All required forms should be completed and submitted at or before orientation on May 28, 2026. Leading into the program, important reminders, virtual-session information, and updates will come by email, so inbox attention is part of being prepared.
Curiosity will shape the week. Ask questions, participate in conversation, and take the speakers seriously. They are giving time because they believe the investment matters, and the students who bring the most energy and openness tend to leave with the deepest value.
A real problem, solved in five days
At the center of the week sits a challenge built in partnership with Teamship and Right at Home. Students work in teams toward a genuine business problem, shape a point of view, and deliver a pitch on Friday afternoon to a room of leaders who have been part of the conversation all week.
It is not a simulation. The questions are real, the stakes are real, and the feedback is direct. The value is not only the final presentation, but the daily practice of listening, synthesizing, and translating what you hear into something a team can act on.
How the week builds toward Friday
Monday sets the problem with an interview. Tuesday through Thursday add texture through partner sessions, workshops, and working blocks where your team refines its thinking. Friday opens with a final working session and dry runs, then moves into pitch presentations, reflection, and dessert to close.
Along the way, you will practice the skills that make the output possible: asking better questions, disagreeing well, editing a slide so it says one thing, and speaking in front of a room that is paying attention.
Support built into the week
The program is structured so students can focus their attention on the experience itself. Meals are covered, practical materials are provided, and the week is designed to feel both welcoming and professionally grounded from beginning to end.
Lunch and snacks are provided each day, so there is no need to bring money for meals. Students will also receive a notebook and pen for use throughout the week, including during the Teamship project and speaker sessions.
A professional headshot is taken during orientation, creating something useful for future applications, résumés, or LinkedIn. Students also receive partner-company swag that marks the experience in a more personal way.
Students who complete the full program receive a contractor payment, acknowledging both the time commitment and the seriousness of the work. Alongside that, the week creates a more lasting benefit: real relationships with leaders and team members who get to know each student by name and potential.
About IMC
Investors Management Corporation, known as IMC, is a privately held company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, founded in 1971. The company is shaped by a belief that responsible ownership matters and that businesses can make a positive impact on the people they serve.
Across the week, that people-first philosophy will be visible in the way conversations are led, questions are answered, and students are welcomed. The program reflects the conviction that doing the right thing is not a slogan, it is the work itself.
Learn more about our companies ▸
Meet the Team
The people leading and supporting Career Exploration are part of the broader IMC team. Get to know the people behind the program and the company before you arrive.
View IMC team profiles ▸Participant Lookbook
A look book spotlighting the 2026 Career Exploration cohort will be available here. Check back closer to the program start date.
Coming soon