Major: Economics, Finance
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Chapel Executive Intern

How did you learn about this opportunity?

I found out via the Smeal College of Business job site. I received an interview in the next couple days.

Tell us a little bit about your experience.

My experience was in Augusta, Georgia at Textron Specialized Vehicles. I worked in the credit department as a Credit Analyst. I worked directly with portfolio managers for the Jacobsen product line to perform customer maintenance duties. This related directly to contacting customers and providing a better purchasing experience. I also began an initiative to consolidate the Jacobsen Customer master data sheet by identifying duplicate accounts and inactive customers. My final project resulted in me traveling to Indianapolis to the Dixie Chopper headquarters to map all the control plans for Accounts Receivables. I also was required to complete Leadership Development courses and participate in an LDP conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

How did this experience impact you academically?

I gained valuable life experience that I simply could not get from a classroom experience. I learned the entire Order to Cash process from invoicing to cash hitting our lockbox. I was also able to learn two ERP systems while working at Textron. I am now proficient in both SAP and Oracle from my experience. Also, I have an enhanced knowledge of the Microsoft business applications. I now know how to use Microsoft Visio and Access, which I previously had no experience with. Lastly, I was able to gain soft skills, from giving presentations and asking co-workers for assistance with my projects.

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

My career path begins with my graduation in Spring 2018. I plan to be in a full-time finance related position and start building my experience. I would ultimately like to be in an economic consulting firm, analyzing firm to firm litigation. I think my experience with Textron in corporate finance has prepared me for this type of analysis and knowledge needed for that position. In the long run, I would like to go back to school and obtain my J.D. and work in corporate law. I was actually able to meet and talk to our general counsel at Textron, and he told me about his career and gave me recommendations. I would want to end up working directly for a corporation as a legal representative.

Would you recommend this experience to other Liberal Arts students?

Yes, I found this experience to be worth while. I gained valuable corporate finance experience while also utilizing leadership skills and networking with employees and other interns around different business units. It was also interesting to learn a new area.

The Paterno Fellows Program has been extremely valuable to my success at this internship. 

How has the Paterno Fellows Program had an impact on this experience?

The Paterno Fellows Program has been extremely valuable to my success at this internship. It has taught me to be a leader both in and outside of the classroom and this reflected in my performance at Textron. I stood out from my peers as someone who takes initiative and completes work diligently. I was lucky enough to already come in with good time management and prioritization skills, which my peers lacked. These made me a valuable asset to my supervisor and the department I worked in. I also could not have done this without the financial support of the College of the Liberal Arts and the Virginia Todd Chapel Executive Internship Program.