Emily Yates: The Financier

When I began my sophomore year, I told myself that I had to start applying for an internship so I could gain some experience. I made an appointment with Mr. Halloran and the process quickly began. In December of 2015, I went on an interview with Merrill Lynch, and about a week later I was hired. I began my three-month internship in their operations department. I supported management with a weekly spreadsheet related to the adoption of client experience on a weekly basis. I also helped as a second hand with day to day tasks. I was exposed to a company that would help me for my future career and allowed me to expand my network.

After my internship at Merrill Lynch, I saw an opportunity on Handshake about a Morgan Stanley position. I had applied to that and then I received an offer. This position was a little bit more hands on because I was there for ten months. I started this internship second semester of my junior year and finished up at the end of my first semester of senior year. I was a part of a team which consisted of a financial advisor and a client associate. Some days I would just assist in small tasks like printing birthday letters and other days I would do research on ETFs or other topics. I also would assist the financial advisor with creating hypothetical portfolio illustrations for client reporting.

With both experiences, I am fortunate enough to have landed a position at IBM in the Consulting by Degrees program that I will be starting at the end of July. Overall, the importance of having an internship is that you get hands on experience and you have something strong to put on your resume for when you start applying to jobs. I also feel like I have broadened my network, I have gotten to know so many people within Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. I have gained relevant knowledge, skills, and experience while establishing connections in the field I worked in.