Indiana INTERNnet celebrated internship excellence on Feb. 4, 2015, at the 9th Annual IMPACT Awards luncheon. Though the event is over and the winners have been announced, we are continuing to celebrate the nomineesā successes.
These are their stories.
IIN: Tell me about your academic path and how some of your other internships supplemented that.
MU: I majored in Classical Studies with the intention of being a foreign languageĀ teacher. But, as college set in and I started thinking about career paths, I realized how competitive Classical Studies can be. So, I thought about other opportunities that would be impactful on people lives.
I realized financial services is something almost everyone needs guidance with. I was hired for the Northwestern Mutual summer program selling life, property and casualty insurance. I utterly failed at this; I’m not a very good salesman.
After graduating from IU Bloomington, I struggled with what to do. I was fortunate to get hired has a customer service representative at Charles Schwab, and later a Registered Representative. I realized how important investing was and how much of a reliance investors (retail or institutional) placed on accounting information.
I enrolled in the MS in Accounting program at IUPUI. At the beginning, I worked at Charles Schwab during the day and took classes at night. After my first semester, I left Charles Schwab and started taking a full course load at IUPUI. I wasĀ fortunate to find work at PolicyStat that gave me the flexibility to be a student and learn about the mechanics of business at the same time.
IIN: Wow, you sought out many internship and experiential learning opportunities during school! Would you suggest the same approach for other students?
MU: It is very difficult to get anything right on the first try, especially the career you want. Having many different experiences allowed me to hone my skills and realize what I wanted to get out of a career. If I would have turned my back on financial services after my first (not-so-successful) internship, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
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Having many different experiences allowed me to hone my skills and realize what I wanted to get out of a career.
–Matthew Uhls
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IIN: The job search process is often intimidating and frustrating for recent or soon-to-be grads. What advice do you have for individuals in that spot right now?
MU: First, be prepared, do the research about the role and company and be ready to sell how you can benefit the company and how the company can benefit you. Second, take advantage of any counseling/mentoring you can get. I took part in several career counseling sessions that helped me with my resume and prepare for interviews.
IIN: We understand youāve settled into a new role?
MU: I started full-time at EYĀ in January. I’m a Staff in the Financial Service Organization Assurance service line. I perform financial statement audits of financial institutions, primarily insurance companies.
