Hannah Colcombe

Describe the steps you took to obtain your internship.

I looked for opportunities in the Finance/Accounting area and found this opportunity in Pittsburgh. I applied for the internship, interviewed, and received the opportunity.

How far in advance did you prepare and begin applying for your experiential learning opportunity?

I applied for the opportunity in January, but I have been prepping myself for these opportunities since I have been at college. I keep good grades and also attained an assistant treasurer role in my sorority.

Describe some of your responsibilities or duties during your experiential learning opportunity.

One of my roles was to account for the daily cash position and foreign cash and put FX rates into Excel sheets. I would do this by gathering cash information from the banks and recording it in the correct spreadsheets. I also calculated the company's net debt daily by obtaining bank information and changing the foreign cash into USD using the FX rates.

What was a typical day like "on the job?"

I, usually, got into work around 8-830 and started with my daily cash position. Then I would occasionally hop on meetings with the head treasurer or work on organizing Excel spreadsheets for her. Then I would finish my day by calculating the daily net debt for the company and changing all foreign cash into USD. I did this because this specific company has parts in different countries so I have to change the currency to have an accurate net debt.

What are some major takeaways from your experience? How will these help prepare you for the next step after graduation?

My biggest takeaway from this experience was the intern's professional development day. They had recruiters come in and give us tips on how to write our resumes and did a mock interview. This prepared me so much for the future because they told us so many resume secrets that they use to find potential talent. I will use this in my future as well as understand more of what I need to prep for for a mock interview.

Did this experience help clarify your career path? If yes, how so?

Yes, I was able to shadow sales for a day during this experience and it opened my eyes to wanting a double major in sales as well as finance. I am very lucky that this internship as a rising junior allowed me to solidify what I want to do in the future!