Summer is ending and we had to say goodbye to our intern Bella. She headed back to the University of Pittsburgh to begin her sophomore year in the College of Business Administration. Before she left we were able to sit down with her and talk about her experience as part of #TeamEvercor.
Please describe your college experience and career goals.
I am in the College of Business Administration, with a certificate in International Business on the Pre-Med track. So far, my college experiences have been amazing. I feel at home at the University of Pittsburgh because I can challenge myself by taking hard classes, but I also have the comfort of a solid group of friends and a great community to support me.
I pride myself on being very involved on campus, and during my freshman year, I was involved in Student Government, and Women in Business -one of my favorite clubs. I also participate in the Lions club, and at the end of last school year, I was elected to be the business manager for the 2019-2020 semesters. Another club I enjoy is the American Medical Students Association. My favorite part of my freshman year was studying abroad in Paris, France. Because of my deep interest in travel, I want a career that allows for me to see different parts of the world.
I also like to communicate with people and work with them face to face. My decision making strategies and analytical problem solving are just two skills that I like to use on a daily basis. I found my economics class most interesting in highschool, and took another intro to business class in college and I became really interested in all things business. Helping people is also something that I love to do, so I am on the pre med track. I want to combine all my areas of study to get into the field of the international business of healthcare.
What were your expectations when you joined Evercor as an intern this summer?
When I first joined Evercor, I did not know what to expect. I knew wanted to get real world exposure in a business with multiple moving parts so that I could truly observe and understand the complexity of a business. I expected that I would be mainly observing and shadowing different areas, but I was pleasantly surprised at how active this internship has been. Real world learning comes when you are engaged in the work yourself, and have a supervisor to back you up. I am so fortunate to have done so much throughout the summer. I never expected my self to have had such a hands on experience. A lot of students can oftentimes be disappointed with their internships as most of the time they are on coffee runs and copying papers, but everyday I would come in for this internship I felt like a true professional. I feel like my internship at Evercor covered so much ground, and it has given me such a strong base of business knowledge.
What is a typical day like interning with Evercor?
Depending on what section of the business I am working in, my day can change dramatically- but that is part of the excitement. If in finance, I would spend most of my time for the day entering information into quickbooks, or scanning bills and organizing them to the shared google drive. While it may seem tedious to some, I have understood this to be a foundational building block of how businesses are run. A strong organizational system is fundamentally necessary to run a business smoothly- and Evercor has taught me exactly that.
If in sales, there is no typical day. New leads develop constantly, and I am always taking new calls and doing new research so I can better prepare myself to make a sale. Whether it’s gathering data on sales statistics, or interacting with a potential client, a day in sales is never boring. I value the interaction between not only the sales team as a whole, but also the interactions we have with the client. It is really rewarding to help someone find a machine that they have been searching for to complete their fleet.
If in marketing, I would be attending marketing meetings with the whole team and multiple supervisors, designing flyers for our next mailer, or brainstorming new ideas for ways to get the company name out there. Observing and participating in a conference room dynamic and learning how to run a meeting was a crucial part of this internship for me. There is so much more that goes on behind the scenes of a business that I learned during my day to day experiences at Evercor.
You have primarily been interning in operations but have done rotations with finance and sales and marketing, as well as shadowed with human resources. What about the experience has helped provide clarity on future career choices you will make?
My time at Evercor has been nothing but learning experiences. The most valuable part of this internship was the structure of it. Because I only had one year of college under my belt, I haven’t dived deep into each subsection of business yet. However, this internship allowed me to see a lot of different parts of business. I know now from this internship that I would prefer to have a job in business where I can interact with a lot of people on the daily. I like actively bouncing ideas off of my colleagues, and working together to reach and end goal is always rewarding. Another thing that I realized during this internship is that business never stops, and the hard working professionals at Evercor have shown me that they don’t either. I am so inspired by the dedication and hardwork that everyone who works at Evercor exhibits.
How has it been working with the staff and how do you find the culture of the company?
Working with the staff has been incredible. Everyone is so hardworking and eager to teach. One thing I loved about my time at Evercor is how willing people were to answer my questions even if I wasn’t necessarily working with them. As this is my first internship, I was extremely curious to find out all I could about everything that running and working at business involves. I got a real sense that every single person at Evercor makes real change everyday, and the staff works together to achieve goals. The culture of the company is friendly and I feel that people constantly push each other to be their best. People motivate each other and work together as a team, while each contributing something valuable.
What advice do you have for other college students pursuing their internships?
I would recommend any college student pursuing their internship to step out of their comfort zone and explore all aspects of their internship. Ask questions, make connections, and enjoy your time. The most informative parts of an internship come when you least expect them. Accept challenges that push your boundaries. Treat your internship like a real job, don’t look at it as temporary.
If you truly work hard and give it all your potential you will have a phenomenal and successful internship experience. You might find interests in areas that you have never explored before. I never thought that I would learn so much and still enjoy my time when working with heavy equipment, but I actually found it interesting and it opened up some new doors for me.
What can students do to gain the most value from an internship?
The biggest thing that a student can gain from an internship is exposure. An internship teaches students what life is really like to work at a business. Studying from textbooks can only teach you so much, and it is much more valuable to see and observe how business work from a first hand perspective.
Hands on learning is the best way to gain the most value from any internship. Students should network with their coworkers and learn more about their background and history with the company. I would also recommend the student to try to be independent and practice their business skill set to the best of their abilities as an internship is a unique opportunity.
Any other comments you would like to say?
I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at Evercor but especially Pat Kane. He is a really big inspiration to me and I am so grateful to him for letting me have this great experience. I have always looked up to him as not only a businessman but also as a person.
He took a chance on me by offering me this internship position and I am extremely grateful for such an amazing learning experience. Everyone at Evercor is wonderful to work with and they all taught me so much.
Bella is a very talented up and coming professional. She was a great asset to Evercor over the summer and we truly enjoyed working with her. We wish Bella much success this new academic year and throughout what will surely be a fantastic and fulfilling future career.