The Accounting Society and Financial Club presented their members with a panel of business students who shared their personal experience with internships.

Dr. Webb, co-sponsor of the Accounting Society, hoped students would be encouraged to search for internships after hearing from fellow classmates.

Nichole Mallory Ghormely, a junior Forensic Accounting major, was one of the students who shared her experience. Ghormely, after actively searching and applying for internships, was recommended to apply for an accounting internship offered at American Airlines.

To get the internship, she was interviewed via phone and then in person by three different departmental managers.

She now interns for SOX, Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance. Her department is in charge of making sure that the company is processing transaction and accounting for items that will follow the guidelines within SOX. She believes an internship is a student's first step to planning their future after college.

“[While interning] Maybe you want to try to get on with that company or maybe you realize you want to take your major in another direction with a completely different company,” Ghormely said.

Vincent Leal, a senior Accounting Forensic/Fraud emphasis major, also shared his experience. After a teleconference interview, a drug screening and a background check Leal earned an internship with the IRS, criminal investigation.

He assists special agents with research tools available to law enforcement and is secondary assistance on interviews, fraud analysis and presenting findings to supervisors. He hopes his experience encourages students to pursue a career in criminal investigation.

“I hope that it sparked an interest for accounting and finance students to pursue internship opportunities with CI [criminal investigation],” Leal said.

Ghormley and Leal prove that with hard work and dedication Wesleyan students can obtain internships before graduating.