Started From the Bottom, Now I'm Here

For so many young professionals, college is a time of testing the waters and attempting to find your calling. Trying to pick a major that seems destined to be your life-long career calling can be very stressful and overwhelming. For whatever reason, I never struggled in selecting accounting as a major. From day one of applying to colleges, accounting was always my major. I was even lucky enough to know exactly what I wanted to do. My plan was, and still is, to obtain a 120 credit accounting major and then go to graduate school for my MBA. So far I am right on schedule for this, as I received my undergrad in accounting from Clarion University this past May and plan to start my MBA at Robert Morris University in the fall.

For the most part, while in college, my summers were devoted to practicing and attempting to perfect my golf game (which is next to impossible). I would spend hours on the course or traveling to tournaments, in hopes of getting ready for next season. The time came that I had to give up the dream of playing golf the rest of my life and start focusing on the next dream. I started focusing on furthering my future in accounting, and to do that, I needed an internship.  Internships are a great way to extend our human capital and, because of this, are difficult to obtain.  Last summer I was invited to attend the summer leadership program, which provided a better insight to both the accounting field and to Schneider Downs. This program helped me choose Schneider Downs for my internship because I got to see the firm’s values and culture in a first-hand experience.

My biggest fear in this entire internship process is messing something up and causing a big problem for someone else. In order to mitigate these problems, I tend to ask a variety of questions. I can imagine this could become quite the inconvenience for someone trying to do work. So far this summer, I have had the opportunity to work with a multitude of different people with very different personalities and interests. Some of these interests include: baseball, Bicycle Heaven, listening to music at work, Ohio State football (I disagree on this one), Penn State football, and snacking while working.  No matter what everyone liked, they never got annoyed by answering one of my thousands of questions. I am grateful to have had the opportunity of meeting all of these new people and to learn from them. I look forward to waking up for work every day because not one day is the same, and I never know who I am going to meet and what I am going to learn. 

Contact us if you have questions regarding Schneider Downs internship opportunities

Visit the Our Thoughts On blog to read more about Schneider Downs intern experiences

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The Schneider Downs Our Thoughts On blog exists to create a dialogue on issues that are important to organizations and individuals. While we enjoy sharing our ideas and insights, we’re especially interested in what you may have to say. If you have a question or a comment about this article – or any article from the Our Thoughts On blog – we hope you’ll share it with us. After all, a dialogue is an exchange of ideas, and we’d like to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

Material discussed is meant for informational purposes only, and it is not to be construed as investment, tax, or legal advice. Please note that individual situations can vary. Therefore, this information should be relied upon when coordinated with individual professional advice.

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Starting from Scratch: My First Internship
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More Than Just Public Accounting
“Trust” Me, Interning at Schneider Downs is a Rewarding Experience
Student-athlete to Accountant
Impacting Through Interning
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