- Question 1
My project was an internship with Huntington National Bank in Columbus, Ohio during the summer. I was a Capital Markets Intern and worked on different financial projects while also being exposed to different careers with the banking industry.
- Question 2
This is an important to my life because as a finance major, I was able to experience real world experiences within the financial field. I also was able to network and learn about different careers within banking. By networking, I became interested in two different financial fields: capital markets and private client banking. I was further able to sit in on meetings and see first-hand what each of these careers involved.
By networking and sitting in on meetings, I was learned that finance jobs are not all desks jobs where employees crunch numbers. There is interaction with people, and one of the skills needed is relationship building. As a result, I became more interested in the financial field and realized I did choose the right major.
- Question 3
The events that led to this change was I met with many people throughout the bank to discuss their experiences. For example, I met with the analysts on my team and asked them about their experiences at Huntington. I also asked them how they ended up at Huntington and what their day-to-day work included. All the analyst talked about their experiences and had positive things to say about Huntington. They also discussed with me about how they loved the work culture at Huntington, which impacted my decision to accept a full-time offer.
Another aspect that changed my view of Huntington was the managers and other employees. My manager was always accessible, and I felt comfortable asking him questions even though he had a management position at Huntington. The head of my team also reached out to me right before I received my full time offer to discuss my internship experience and what my thoughts were for full-time next year. Both of these interactions were one of the main reasons I accepted the offer. Through people higher up in the organization reaching out to me, I felt Huntington’s welcoming culture.
I also networked with people at Huntington outside of my department. For example, my neighbor’s daughter reached out to me to set up a meeting to see how my experience at Huntington was going. I also reached out to the employees in Private Banking Group to learn about their careers. In these meetings, I again learned that banking is a diverse field with lots of opportunities and most careers involved other activities then sitting behind a desk and crunching numbers. By continuing to network with people, I also saw how welcoming Huntington’s culture was, and this made me want to work there.
- Question 4
This change is significant in my life because I am embracing my career in finance. I also am working their full time starting this summer. This internship changed the way I viewed banking. Previously, I thought banking was sitting at your desk crunching number, but through this experienced I realized there is so much more to banking. This experienced also made me realize I want to work in finance in the banking industry. This relates to my academic career and matters because through this internship I discovered I picked the right major, and I was also offered a full-time offer, which furthers my professional goal of having a successful financial career.