12 Simple Words

This fall, I will be entering my fifth year at Penn State to finish my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and, in a few short weeks, I will complete my second summer internship at Schneider Downs. It’s now been almost two years since I began the interview process.

Like most students before a career fair, I “Google-searched” all the accounting firms I planned to speak with in advance. At the Penn State career fair, I spent a few hours learning what each firm had to offer, the industries they worked with and their values/mission statements. Most had a long set of core values and a mission statement that ran a couple sentences long, but I’ll never forget coming across Schneider Downs’ mission statement. It’s 12 words long: “Working together every day to make our firm, clients and communities better.” It’s simple, memorable and, in my opinion, says it all.

After two internships, I’ve now seen firsthand how Schneider Downs strives to fulfill its mission. Thanks to the firm, I’ve been given a number of opportunities to contribute and add value to the audits to which I’ve been assigned. I am consistently challenged, but always have support when I need it. Many students I go to school with have internships that are just “check-boxes” for their resumes, but my internships at Schneider Downs have definitely helped prepare me for my career after graduation.

The teams I worked with here were professional and determined to do the best job for the client. Everyone works hard with a willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done right, but they’re also friendly and welcoming.

As a bonus, I was also able to participate in some community service projects as part of my internships. This year, the interns helped with the Arthritis Walk. I wasn’t too excited when my alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. that Saturday, but I was really glad we were able to help, and love that Schneider Downs is so active in the community.

So, that’s it. Schneider Downs’ mission statement was one of the first things that stood out to me about the firm. Now, after (almost) two internships, I’m happy to report that statement is not just words on the website, but “working together every day to make our firm, clients and communities better” is really how Schneider Downs lives and breathes.