My STEP project was my summer internship at Greif, Inc. I was lucky enough to be a finance intern there for twelve weeks. Mainly, I learned about financial analysis, data validation, professionalism, and much more.

At the beginning of this experience I was extremely nervous. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to understand and I was not sure of my ability. Luckily, I was surrounded by some incredible individuals that were willing to help me learn and answer any question I had. I wasn’t sure what to expect as for the culture of the office going in. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a very welcoming environment. Through many projects as an intern I learned about excel, data validation, formatting, and the importance of internal reporting in a business. There are endless ways to present financial data and through this experience I found that I best understand when it is presented visually in graphics such as pie charts, line graphs, and stacked graphs. I now have a better understanding of how I personally learn and I can apply this to my studies at Ohio State.

The internship program at Grief is quite robust in that we are given many opportunities to connect with other interns, employees, and the community. A fear I had going into this experience was not being able to connect with those around me. Luckily, I was part of a fantastic and social group of interns. We had the chance to meet every week and learn more about the business and each other at our roundtables. Another beneficial part of my internship was the plant tour. We traveled to Florence, KY and Cincinnati, OH to see how exactly the products are made. The meat of my internship was spent working on projects with the Financial Planning and Analysis team. I was given the opportunity to work on many types of projects including budgeting, capital expenditures, and internal reporting. I strengthened my skills in excel and financial knowledge. We rounded off our summer by presenting to the Executive Leadership Team and managers.

This experience has been an incredibly valuable one. I became more confident in my abilities and gained skills I will use in my professional life. I learned about the importance of continuous growth and development and how I should implement that in my future. This internship helped me realized that just because I am an accounting major, I am not confined to accounting jobs. My major will not define my work ethic, willingness to learn, or my abilities.