Elon University was represented globally this past summer with hundreds of business students interning in several cities throughout the country and world.
During summer 2014, 295 students completed an internship for credit that was registered with the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. Students worked across 29 states and 14 countries for nonprofit organizations, Fortune 500 and start-up companies.
The students completed at least 80 hours of work during their internship. As part of the internship course, they submitted weekly journal entries, read suggested material and conducted a presentation on their experience upon completion of the internship.
“The internship course helps the students integrate their learning objectives and work assignments for the maximum professional outcome,” said Jan Pagoria, director of internships in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.
Internship experiences included areas in finance, accounting, marketing, management, economics, entrepreneurship and international business. Some of the students’ experiences are highlighted here:
“My biggest takeaway for the summer was how important risk management is in the financial industry,” Stoddard said. “Right now, risk is huge and it is going to be an important function of the banking system moving forward.”
Senior accounting major Mae Lim, worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York, N.Y., as an assurance intern. Lim conducted fraud reviews, rolled forward management rep letter for quarters and disaggregated revenue analytics, among other tasks. She learned about the internship opportunity through Beta Alpha Psi’s Accounting and Finance Meet and Greet, and was interested in this particular internship because it offered a “great experience to get exposed to clients, people and corporate culture.”
“PwC emphasizes internship aspects such as coaching and shadowing, networking, flexibility and community service and provides insight in the real word of public accounting,” said Lim, a native of Berkeley Heights, N.J.
“I’ve always wanted to do an internship abroad and I was especially interested in this internship because of the location in Denmark,” Abi-Mansour said. “The company is really focused on having Scandinavian roots, while having a global mindset. I appreciate how diverse all the employees were, making it comfortable for me even though I wasn’t from Denmark.”
Andrew Kennedy ’15, a finance major from Byfield, Mass., completed his second internship at Bain Capital in Boston. As a corporate finance intern, he was responsible for assisting in auditing time and expense reports, batching and cutting checks as well as delivering employee reimbursements and entering over 1,000 into a software program invoices throughout the course of his internship. After graduation, Kennedy wants to pursue a career in corporate finance and eventually move to investment banking.
“Bain Capital is a big name and it was a great opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the business and give me more experience to go along with my degree,” Kennedy said. “I wanted to take what I have learned in class to real life and put it to use.”
Senior marketing major Desiree Porter interned for Wells Fargo & Co., in Charlotte, N.C. As a customer insights and analysis intern, she completed a vendor evaluation for an in-market test project, drafted and reviewed questionnaires, created a detailed product synthesis report and attended meetings with business partners to discuss ongoing projects.
Porter, a native of Winston Salem, N.C., offers the following advice for students searching for an internship: “Don’t seek out an internship because of the company name. Instead, find an open position that best meets your skill set and interests. Do your research, go to the company website and investigate the program offers.”