August 01, 2019

Seniors in the Sigmund Weis School of Business are confirming their career choices by participating in intensive and immersive summer internships.

“Such internships provide the perfect opportunity for students to plan for and succeed in the workforce,” said Matthew Rousu, dean of the business school. “They also allow students to apply classroom lessons to job experiences with some of America’s most prestigious firms.”

The summer is an opportune time for students to narrow their employment interests within their respective industry.

Referring to the business school’s excellent job placement rates, Rousu added, “Often those job offers result from internships students complete the summer before their senior year.”

Fernando Hernandez ’20

Hernandez, a finance major from Newark, New Jersey, is interning with JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Global Finance Business Management Program.

Hernandez is analyzing big data to assess clients’ financial statements and create financial action plans at the Newark, Delaware, location.

Hernandez is no stranger to beyond-the-classroom experience. In fact, this is his fourth internship, one of which was an international placement with Alfa Beta Consultants in Barcelona, Spain. He also spent two summers interning with USLI, a liability insurer in Wayne, Pennsylvania. He reflected on what how he wants his time at JPMorgan Chase & Co. to be remembered.

“I want to be innovative and the type of individual that is remembered after I return to Susquehanna,” he said.

Stacie Savoca ’20

Savoca, an accounting major from Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, is interning with KPMG’s tax practice section in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Savoca says SU’s alumni network played a key role in securing her internship with one of the Big Four accounting firms in the world. Last summer, alumni connections provided her with the opportunity to shadow five different firms, including KPMG.

Savoca also credits the Sigmund Weis School of Business’s emphasis on team-intensive classwork and the opportunity it grants underclassmen to take higher-level accounting courses most commonly offered during a student’s senior year.

“It’s really helped me feel more confident going into my internship knowing that I have more accounting background than other interns,” said Savoca, whose first task involved reviewing state tax returns for an energy company.

“Accounting at one of the Big Four firms is really different than a lot of other career paths, so figuring out now if this is where I want to be is really important to me,” she added.

Logan Sears ’20

Marketing major and Selinsgrove native Sears is participating in Enterprise Rent-a-Car’s management trainee internship program at its Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania, location.

“I work with six other young people in their early to mid-20s, and I like the competitive environment,” said Sears, who played baseball his first year at SU. “It’s similar to the competitiveness of athletics, which I’ve enjoyed my whole life.”

Having spent seven summers as a golf shop attendant at the Susquehanna Valley Country Club, Sears knows what it takes to make a sale. He credits his comfort with talking to customers about a product — whether it be a golf club or a car upgrade—to his classroom experience presenting business pitches.