My Future So Bright program celebrates third successful year in Fayetteville

By Faith Hatton, posted Aug 14, 2025 on BizFayetteville.com

A total of 84 interns participated in this year’s My Future so bright program. At the graduation ceremony held on Aug. 1, each student was able to receive their graduation certificates from Mid-Carolina Regional Council Executive Director Samantha Wullenwaber.

The My Future So Bright (MFSB) workforce development program is celebrating the completion of its third year.

The program is brought to the community by a collaboration between the Mid-Carolina Workforce Development Board and NCWorks and through partnership with the city of Fayetteville.

Organizers recently celebrated a graduation ceremony on Aug.1 for the 2025 interns where some of the 84 student interns were able to receive their certificates (and final paystubs) for the work they did over the course of their cohorts.

Around 120 businesses across multiple industries partnered with the program to provide internship opportunities to students. Some of those businesses include:

An Affair to Remember Prom Pageant and Formal Wear
Becoming Counseling Services, PLLC
Blissful Alchemists
I Love Balloons, LLC
LWood Solutions, LLC
McDuffie Law Firm
The Mo You Know, TV & Radio
Veterans Bridge Home and more

Organizers shared that when selecting businesses to place their interns, they prioritized what kind of experience they could provide, sharing that many of the students participating are looking for their potential careers.

“We really need these individuals to be hands-on and doing something. We don’t need them just filing paperwork or answering phones because they’re coming for the experience. They want to be able to see if this is really something they want to do,” shared Jennifer McArthur, APRA and NextGen compliance monitor for Mid-Carolina Regional Council.

MFSB intern Khadija Bibi pictured receiving her certificate at graduation from Mid-Carolina Regional Council Executive Director Samantha Wullenwaber.

Local student and MFSB intern Khadija Bibi shared that she has always had an interest in healthcare, but her internship this summer with Wolinsky Primary Care really helped her get the hands-on experience she needed to know what her future career path might entail.

“I would take vitals, help with restocking stuff and sometimes I would help with procedures like EKGs and this one time, I even did a urine sample,” shared Bibi. “I would say it definitely exposes you to the real world. It helps you grasp what you want to do in the future. It makes you really want to be sure about what you're doing. I know it definitely helped me with that. I always knew I wanted to go into healthcare, but when I did that internship, it just made me all the more passionate about it.”

MFSB intern Jalaya Faison pictured receiving her certificate at graduation from Mid-Carolina Regional Council Executive Director Samantha Wullenwaber.

Intern Jalaya Faison shared that she is interested in owning a small business in the future, and was able to learn and grow during her internship with I Love Balloons, LLC.

“A lot of our jobs consisted of going out in the community and doing corporate events. We did the balloons for Fayetteville State [University], we did the balloons for Chickfil-A. We also learned a lot about how to run a business, as far as the money aspect, organizing and things like that; and also learning teamwork and learning to work with each other,” shared Faison. “I'm pretty much a closed off person, so I feel like teamwork may not be my strongest suit. But upon working with I Love Balloons, she definitely taught us a lot about teamwork, and I feel like my biggest highlight was learning to put others' needs before my own.”

While some placements aren't an exact match, interns still took the opportunity to experiment in different career fields.

MFSB intern Josiah Gunn pictured receiving her certificate at graduation from Mid-Carolina Regional Council Executive Director Samantha Wullenwaber.

Rising junior and MFSB intern Josiah Gunn shared that while he wasn’t able to be placed with his exact career match, he was able to try something new by being placed with the My Future is Brite nonprofit organization.

“They wanted to know what I was interested in first, and then they looked for that position for me. Originally I said accounting, but unfortunately, they couldn't find that, so they gave me another option, and I chose something with kids,” shared Gunn. “I do want to continue looking for accounting, however, I also have grown an interest towards teaching. During my internship, I realized it was kind of fun helping the kids out.”

With the MFSB program planning to return in 2026, organizers are hoping to be able to tap into the military community and possibly expand into additional partnerships to help the program grow.

Learn more about the Mid-Carolina Regional Council and their other events and programs at www.mccog.org.

Editor’s note: An additional article highlighting the growth seen by MFSB in 2025 will be featured in our upcoming print issue coming to the community on Friday, Aug. 15.

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