My STEP signature project was an internship with an accounting firm in the Columbus/Cleveland area called HW&Co. I worked in the company’s Healthcare department, which made a majority of my clients Nursing Facilities or Assisted Living Homes.

The opportunity to work with this accounting firm led me to have a different view of the world around me. There is so much more to work than just a casual nine to five job that everyone talks about. Throughout my internship I learned more about being responsible than ever before. I had to make sure I woke up every morning bright and early, I had to dress appropriately, and do other things that normally would slide in a college environment. A unique aspect of my internship is right when things were starting to pick up, COVID-19 forced the firm to make everyone work remotely from home. This was a great experience to see how the firm was so willing to make everything work out in the long run and I am happy to see this firsthand.

The primary event that led me to see the world in a different way as mentioned before was the COVID-19 dilemma in the firm and how everyone worked together to overcome it. This event made me nervous as I was not sure how things would work out for me as an intern and working from home. The firm made sure that I was kept in the loop and I would have at least 2 daily update phone calls a day with my advisors. Throughout the process the firm itself worked hard to make sure everyone has the at home set up needed to work effectively from home, but to still feel connected with our coworkers.

Something else I mentioned was the responsibility and integrity it took to be up and ready to go bright and early. Traditionally throughout college I have made a serious effort to schedule my class around 11:30 am at the earliest in an effort to sleep in. This was not an option for work and because of this I had to make sure I had alarms set and I was in bed by a decent hour every night. Although this was tough at first, the interactions I had with coworkers at the office made me look forward to going into the office the next morning and helped me to feel not only more at home, but happier and excited to go to work. All of my coworkers went above and beyond to make me feel at home, and this helped me to not struggle with waking up earlier.

Lastly, I would like to talk about how my coworkers felt in the workspace. All of them truly helped me to not only see where I made a mistake, but rather to help me understand how to fix the mistake to ensure that I would not make it again. Being in a smaller firm allowed me to get to know my coworkers on more of a personal level and that is something I am extremely grateful for. These people helped me to realize that this is the career path I enjoy and want to take in my life. The idea of choosing a career to stick with is very hard to think about at such a young age, but thanks to the firm’s wonderful employees I was able to discover that this path is the right one for me.

I would say that this change is very valuable to my life as it has shown me the career path I am meant to take in the future. Often times you hear stories of people who did not enjoy their career after studying it through 4 years or more of college. This is something that has always weighed on my mind, and it was great to get a preview of my future through this internship and to be able to honestly say that I am looking forward to the opportunities and experience my job will bring me. Hopefully I will get an offer from the firm, but in the meantime, I will continue to do my best to stay in contact with them and use what I leanred.

*NOTE: unfortunately I did not have any photos of myself in the office, so I attached a photo of the company logo and my computer set up of while I worked from home due to corona.