Major: Economics
Hometown: Collegeville, PA

How did you learn about this opportunity?

I learned about my internship by reaching out to an old neighbor of mine whom I knew worked in the finance industry. I am hoping to work in the finance industry upon completing my studies at Penn State at the end of next year and I decided there was no better way to start my potential career than interning within the industry. I contacted my former neighbor before Christmas break (2015) and after catching up and sending a copy of my resume, he set up an interview for me with his firm, HPM Partners, at their New York City office. The interview went well and I was hired to my unpaid internship by May 2016.

Tell us a little bit about your experience.

In the first three weeks alone, I learned more about the finance industry than I had expected to learn through the duration of the internship. Everyone was extremely pleasant and more than willing to help me with any projects or material I struggled with as I am new to work in the finance industry. I sat in on countless investment strategy meetings, created spreadsheets with bond and stock statistics, and wrote one page client summaries for multi-slide PowerPoint presentations. As my knowledge continued to increase, I was challenged to new, increasingly difficult, tasks.

How did this experience impact you academically?

As an economics major, I came across numerous common themes from my economics classes which are used on a daily basis in the finance industry. My background in economics helped prepare me for some of the practices and terms used at my internship, as macroeconomics (in particular) plays a huge part in the investment strategies utilized by the firm I worked for. Moving forward, I am very confident that the knowledge I gained from my internship will improve my performance in my economics classes because I have witnessed how important having an understanding of the economy is to the finance industry.

What are your career goals and plans?  How did this experience impact them?

There is no better way to get introduced to a potential career in an industry than to participate in an internship offered in that industry. 

My goal after graduation in 2017 is to pursue a career in the finance industry. My internship provided me with a great base understanding of the day to day practices of the finance industry and provided me with my first consistent job schedule (it was my first office job). This knowledge will strengthen my performance in my economics classes and my experience working in the industry will make my resume more appealing to potential employers after graduation. For lack of better words, this internship has gotten me hooked on the finance industry, and I intend to build a long and successful career in this industry.

Would you recommend this experience to other Liberal Arts students?

I would absolutely recommend an internship experience to any Liberal Arts student. There is no better way to get introduced to a potential career in an industry than to participate in an internship offered in that industry. I enrolled in LA 495 to receive credits for the time I am spending at my internship this summer. In addition to the credits I received upon completion, I gained priceless knowledge of the industry, experience being interviewed, and real world job experience. With that being said, I cannot find a reason I would not recommend an internship experience to another student.

For more information on internships for Liberal Arts students, visit our website.