Real Estate Internship Lessons in Fort Wayne
Real Estate Careers · From Moving Fort Wayne
Real Estate Internship Lessons in Fort Wayne
What does an intern actually do at a top real estate team, and what can a high school senior learn that no classroom can teach? On this episode of Moving Fort Wayne, Brad Noll sits down with Alayna Baker, a marketing-focused intern at the Noll Team, to answer exactly that.
A real estate internship, it turns out, is about far more than putting signs in yards. It is a front-row seat to how a business builds relationships, markets homes, and serves people through big life changes. This post is for parents, students, and anyone curious about internships, plus Fort Wayne homeowners who want a peek behind the scenes of how real estate really works.
Alayna Baker is a senior at Homestead High School and a second-semester intern at the Noll Team. She is headed to Indiana Wesleyan University to major in marketing. Here is what she has learned so far, and what it means for you.
Why Businesses Should Offer Internship Programs
The Noll Team is named "team" on purpose. As Brad Noll puts it, "there's a lot of people who need to come together in order to help a mission or a cause." With roughly seven interns over the years, the team treats development as a core value.
"We believe all successful teams have a developmental program," Brad Noll says. "Everybody needs to develop. Everybody needs to get better. Everybody needs to come in and learn."
That philosophy shapes the kind of internship they offer. Interns are not sent for coffee or copies. They are handed real, marketing-related work and treated as part of the team, which is exactly what makes the experience worth having.
“I wouldn't have learned certain things about professionalism and teamwork and leadership and all these things if I weren't to have joined the workforce and seen it firsthand for myself.”
Alayna Baker
Internships Beyond Real Estate
Brad Noll is quick to point out that a real estate internship is really a business internship. Interns have leaned into analytics, KPIs, podcast production, and event planning.
"If you want business management, if you want business marketing, if you want interior design, these are all things that we could give internships on that don't even have anything to do with real estate that have everything to do with business," he says. The takeaway for students: pick an environment that will stretch you, not just a job title.
What a Real Estate Internship Teaches About Marketing
Coming in, Alayna Baker admits she pictured a simpler process. "I thought originally that the process was way more simple," she says. A house goes on the market, there are showings, someone makes an offer, and you buy it.
Then reality set in. "I realized there's so many more steps to the process. Like there's title work, insurance and mortgages and lenders," she says. Watching that machinery up close reframed what marketing in real estate actually means.
The Noll Team's approach turns the old sales mindset on its side. Instead of convincing people, the focus is connection. "We're actually building relationships," Brad Noll says. "We're going to help serve them so that they can be confident homeowners."
Best Known Beats Best When Best Isn't Best Known
One lesson that surprised Alayna Baker was how much good marketing costs, from meticulously staged professional photos to video. Brad Noll used it as a teaching moment about visibility.
He shared a line a friend gave his daughters: "Best known beats best when best isn't best known." In other words, a business has to market both the homes it sells and the team itself, so people going through a move know who to call. Quality alone does not win if no one has heard of you.
Seen Versus Told: Skills You Cannot Learn in a Classroom
Ask Alayna Baker about the biggest difference between school and the workforce and she names it instantly: "this idea of seen versus told."
"I feel like I wouldn't have learned certain things about professionalism and teamwork and leadership and all these things if I weren't to have joined the workforce and seen it firsthand for myself," she says. Watching the Nolls lead their company gave her role models for how to carry herself professionally.
She also credits the team's clearly stated values. "Because they have stated out their values very clearly, you're being upfront and honest and people know what they're going to expect going into a transaction or a relationship building time." That transparency, she notes, is a form of professionalism worth copying.
Relationships First: How the Noll Team Approaches Real Estate
The heart of the conversation is a simple idea Alayna Baker has repeated to her own parents. Brad Noll told her early on that "he was in the relationship business first, and then he helps people buy their houses because of it."
Brad Noll frames it through a well-known story about McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, who reportedly said the company was really in the real estate business, owning the best locations. The parallel is that real estate exists to serve people, not just to move product. "We need to sell homes to put food on the table," Brad Noll says, "but it's through serving other people."
For buyers and sellers, that means the first question is not about the house. It is about the lifestyle change behind the move: getting married, growing a family, a job relocation, or kids leaving home. Those changes, Brad Noll explains, are the real reasons people reach out, and helping clients feel confident through them is the whole point.
What Gen Z Wants in a Home
Brad Noll asked Alayna Baker what her generation looks for in a home, and her answers offer honest insight for anyone marketing to younger buyers.
The first theme is comfort, with a caveat. "You have these goals for yourself and you want to be able to improve," she says, describing a home that supports growth rather than one that keeps you stuck. There is, in her words, "a fine line between the two."
The second theme is community. "I feel like I thrive off community. And so location probably would matter the most for me," she says. Fun amenities are nice, but proximity to people she cares about wins. It is a useful reminder for sellers: location and community connection still carry real weight.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an intern do at a real estate team?
At the Noll Team, interns take on real marketing work: filming behind-the-scenes and B-roll footage, editing video, writing birthday and home anniversary cards, and handling post-production for the podcast. Alayna Baker also helped create one of the team's top five most-watched video reels. The goal is hands-on experience, not busywork.
How long does a real estate transaction take?
It depends on whether you want to move or need to move. Brad Noll says a seller transaction typically runs about 90 to 120 days from start to finish, though it can stretch to six months. On the fast end, a deal can close in about 30 days, and one cash buyer went from seeing a home on Sunday to closing that Friday.
Is a real estate internship worth it for a high school student?
Alayna Baker's advice is direct: "If you do, you have an interest, pursue it and you'll have made the right decision because I love it here." She encourages students to put themselves out there and act professionally, treating themselves as a full member of the team.
What surprised the intern most about real estate?
Alayna Baker was struck by how much work goes into a single listing and how meticulously homes are staged for professional photos. She was also surprised by how expensive that marketing can be, a reminder of how much goes on behind a smooth sale.
▶ Listen to the full episode
How Internships Build Future Leaders with Alayna Baker, on Moving Fort Wayne.
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