Shoshannah Bontrager: Making an IMPACT

Indiana INTERNnet celebrated internship excellence on February 7, 2018 at the 12^th Annual IMPACT Awards Luncheon. Though the event is over and the winners have been announced, we are continuing to celebrate the nominees’ successes.

These are their stories

Shoshannah Bontrager received her Bachelor of Science in Business, with a concentration in Accounting and Finance from Grace College. Last year, she completed an internship with Poly-Wood, LLC.

Indiana INTERNnet: What did you like most about your internship with Poly-Wood, LLC?

Shoshannah Bontrager: I loved how involved upper management was with everyone. There are over 300 employees, but the CFO worked one-on-one with me, an intern, to teach me about how to create financial statements, GAAP rules, etc. The company also works hard to make the environment one where people love going to work, and they succeed!

IIN: What was the most challenging project you were assigned?

SB: While I was an intern, I was tasked with completing a financial reporting packet that we sent to our investors. This included calculating the company’s current value, and how much each share was worth. I also completed the company bank reconciliations. Both of these tasks were challenging when I first started!

IIN: Was this your first internship?

SB: No, I had completed one internship prior to this one. I chose to complete an internship because I wanted to gain experience in my field, as well as receive the class credit that it gave me.

IIN: You were offered a full-time position with Poly-Wood, could you explain that process?

My supervisor learned that I was graduating soon, and even though he didn’t have a budgeted position, he said that he appreciated the work that I had done and would love if I could come and work for them full time. There was not an application process or an interview, simply a meeting with my boss and the CFO where they gave me an official offer letter. I had several other job offers at the time, but after praying and talking with some professors about it, I decided that I wanted to stay with Polywood after graduation. I accepted the position as a Financial Analyst and am currently working there.

IIN: Has your nomination for IMPACT Awards impacted your life?

SB: I have had several people throughout my work and school network that heard about it. One of the accountants that audited our company recently heard about my nomination and congratulated me, so that was cool!