Unconventional Internship

Unlike a lot of students today, I knew coming into college that I wanted to major in accounting, become a licensed CPA, and work for a public accounting firm. Throughout my time in school, I have constantly been working to improve. My experience with Schneider Downs has tremendously helped shape me into a better public accountant and young professional.

I interviewed with Schneider Downs in my junior year of college and was invited to the Summer Leadership Program and offered an internship position with the audit department for this summer. I attended the Summer Leadership Program for two days and was able to learn more about the firm, meet different people in the firm, and learn more about the accounting industry as a whole. It was clear by the end of the two days that Schneider Downs was a top firm in the accounting industry, and I was eager to start my internship the next summer.

I wasn’t sure what to expect coming into the internship. I had prior knowledge of what a traditional internship is like from past experiences, but conditions due to COVID-19 would make it a different experience working from home. I was nervous about how limited my internship experience would be because I knew there would be a lot of training and communicating, which is difficult in a completely digital world. The thought of going to work in my dining room instead of the PPG building or to a client site was odd, but Schneider Downs did an incredible job of keeping me and the other interns engaged with the firm’s people and culture. I could see from day one how dedicated Schneider Downs is to its people and how dedicated they were to making this internship as meaningful and impactful as possible.

Throughout this experience, I have had the opportunity to work and get to know some of the great people at Schneider Downs who have helped me tremendously throughout my internship. I was given the opportunity to work in the Audit Department as well as the Risk Advisory Services Department. I could quickly see the care that Schneider Downs has for it clients and people. The experience in both departments has truly been a great experience and I feel like I have gained a wide range of knowledge. Coming from a family of accountants, I thought I knew a lot about public accounting, but I learned quickly at the beginning that I knew very little and that the only way to learn was to ask questions. Everyone was always willing and eager to answer any questions that I had and make sure I was able to learn and improve on each engagement.

I am grateful and privileged to be able to have had this experience given the current conditions. While other firms may have canceled their internship programs, Schneider Downs stuck with us and made sure we were able to absorb as much as possible from this internship. Throughout this experience, I can see that Schneider Downs lives up to its motto, “Big Thinking. Personal Focus.”