See where Heavener students are interning this summer

This summer, over 800 undergraduate Business Gators are interning and participating in experiential learning. Heavener School of Business students are interning and building competencies across a variety of functions and industries including marketing and sales, finance and accounting, operations and logistics, consulting, information technology, human resources and more.

Whether remote or on-site, students have completed internships across the United States and internationally including in New York, California, Texas, Washington, D.C., China and the United Kingdom. While the pandemic heavily affected internship opportunities last summer, Heavener students’ average hourly wage for internship compensation was $17/ hour in 2020. Even more promising, preliminary data for 2021 is showing an average hourly wage of $19.

Check out the internships Heavener students are participating in, what they hope to gain from their experiences and what they’ve learned from their internship opportunities so far. – Diana Saiz, Associate Director, Business Career Services, Heavener School of Business. 

Nicholas Artires – BSBA ’22

Internship: Summer Intern | Robinson Financial Group | Gainesville, Florida

Internship goal: “I hope to gain professional experience in the financial services industry. I am looking forward to expanding my financial acumen and developing technical skills such as my Excel and PowerPoint proficiency. I also hope to learn and absorb as much information as possible from the professionals that I will be working around who have more than a decade of experience in the financial services sector. 

How I’ve benefitted from my internship: “In my internship I have learned the fundamentals of retirement and investments. I have learned that every client has different needs and that as financial advisors we must cater to every person’s various criterion.

One surprising fact that I did not realize before my internship was the amount of people who do not prepare for retirement until they retire. This can be easily avoided through effective planning. I have also developed my interpersonal skills by interacting with clients, sitting in on meetings, and reaching out to set up appointments.

Robinson Financial Group President Marcus Robinson prides himself on his relationships and I have been able to pick his brain to learn best practices for creating strong, lasting relationships. Mr. Robinson and I set aside time each week to speak for about an hour, where I can ask anything that comes to mind. What most interest me about Mr. Robinson is his entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to serving his clients. Overall, it has been a great experience and I am looking forward to completing the second half of my internship.”

Sally Yang – BSBA ’21, MSF ’22

Internship: Sales and Trading Summer Analyst | RCB Capital Markets | New York City, New York and working remotely

Internship goal: “I am hoping to learn more about sales and trading and why it is relevant to different parts of the bank as a whole. I am hoping that I can develop the mindset of a trader and learn how to manage risk. I am hoping that I can build long-lasting relationships with fellow interns and learn from each other’s experiences. Last but not least, I would love to explore my personality and use the internship to see if sales and trading is the right career path for me.”

How I’ve benefitted from my internship: “I have learned about the different parts of commodities market and how supply and demand relationship impacts the shape and duration of a cycle. I have learned about how the desk earns fees and how to engage a client to pitch ideas/products. Also, I have learned the importance of building healthy/strong relationships with my manager, potential clients, my peers and most importantly, myself.”

Dwayne Thelwell – BSBA ’21

Internship: Commercial and Investment Banking Securities Operation Internship | Wells Fargo | Working remotely

Internship goal: “As an intern in Commercial and Investment Banking Operation for Wells Fargo, one of the things I hope to get out of this internship is first-hand experience of what it is like to work in the financial industry. Since this is my first internship working in the financial industry, I am excited to learn more about the financial market and how Wells Fargo operates as a large corporation. I am also looking forward to partaking in professional development opportunities where I may attend networking events to fulfill my aspirations of becoming a leader in the workplace and improve my professional skills.

How I’ve benefitted from my internship: “Having completed my first half of my internship as an operations intern at Wells Fargo I have learned valuable lessons regarding how to navigate my career. One of the things I learned was the value of feedback from managers and fellow coworkers that I interacted with during my time at the company. Receiving feedback can be very beneficial with understanding your weaknesses and ways you can improve professionally throughout your career. Another thing I learned was the value of networking and building relationship with mangers and other employees throughout the organization. Due to the relationships I had built, I was able to leverage my network to take part in other project opportunities.”

Karisya “Ysa” Moran-Adames – BSBA ‘22

Internship: Corporate Client Banking & Specialized Industries Summer Analyst | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Chicago, Illinois

Internship goal: “In my internship this summer, I am hoping to gain real world experience and to increase my understanding of the banking industry. Additionally, I hope to grow my network and to meet like-minded individuals who will help me throughout my professional career!

How I’ve benefitted from my internship: “In my internship at JPMorgan, I have learned a lot about debt capital markets and about how a bank can help to serve its clients. In my role, we focus on providing lending facilities and various other products to clients. I have also learned a lot about JPMorgan’s culture and how they are very passionate about diversity and inclusion efforts.”

Taylor Anderson – BABA ’22, BS Biology ’22

Internship: Student Intern | Gainesville Fire Rescue’s Community Resource Paramedicine Program (CRP) | Gainesville, Florida

Internship goal: “Developing my personal communication skills is very important to me as I plan on applying to medical school in the near future. CRP gives me the opportunity to do this as I am able to communicate with patients and health care providers. I think the lack of clear communication and an empathetic attitude towards patients is a healthcare issue which significantly affects patients’ comfortability and willingness to follow through with a program. It does not matter if the quality of work or services you are providing is the best quality if the patient does not trust you in the first place to get started. It has also allowed me to expand my interests and experience other fields/subsets of healthcare that I am inspired by. 

I also hope I can continue to refine my healthcare interests through CRP and identify what I do/do not want to work in with healthcare. For example: CRP has helped me identify I have a large interest in working with underserved communities. On the other hand, it has helped me to further understand the very inefficient nature of our healthcare system and the inordinate number of ‘red-tape’ barriers patients must sometimes go through to access a basic resource. This has given me a new perspective on med school and the difficulties doctors are going to have to face in the future.”

How I’ve benefitted from my internship: “Working in East Gainesville gives me a firsthand perspective into the other half of my city I rarely get to see and experience. I have learned a lot of members of the UF community do not know about the significant divide socioeconomic divide that exists between the underserved side of East Gainesville and more affluent West Gainesville. There is a large number of progressive movements and protests on campus for nearly every controversial issue but advocating for those living part of our own city is a topic that tends to be overshadowed by more mainstream politics. While the city attempts to cover up the more rural look of these areas through gentrification, it is only a band aid that repairs the tip of an iceberg that leaves the remaining 99% sinking. I strive to act as an advocate for these people on UF’s campus, as CRP has allowed me to see further into these communities firsthand and understand the REAL issues they face. 

I have been surprised to find the issues I thought were most prevalent in these underserved communities are not the real issues at all. Simply registering for a social security card or obtaining food stamps may be a large barrier to a patient because of lack of internet access, an inefficient government website, or phone representatives that do not answer for hours on hold. It is often not a question of if a resource exists, but rather how can the patient access it in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Finally, CRP has been personally very rewarding to me. Unlike some ‘resume filler’ or ‘pre- _____’ membership organizations, I genuinely feel like I am making a difference at CRP every day with real, quantifiable results. I am able to employ creative aspects of myself I thought would never be applicable to healthcare such as design, photography, and fluency with several software. For example, I have been able to use my design skills and high attention to detail to create the Fire Department monthly newsletter, patient materials and other documents. Interning at CRP and meaningful community involvement in general has been by far one of the most transformational parts of my college experience. 

Going forward with CRP, I would like to work on developing strategies and events that will contribute to strengthening the liaison between CRP, UF and the greater Gainesville community. I have been talking to friends in other community-based organizations that are interested in potentially partnering and holding community/campus heath engagement events in the future.”