As a sophomore, I have had the privilege to partake in one of the faculty led study trips abroad during the May 2018 intersession. I signed up to take the three-credit humanities course, Western Civilization. With Dr. James Bibza and Dr. Paul Schaeffer as the professors teaching this course and leading us in our travels, the trip was guaranteed to be a success. These two professors had experience with the travel route that we would be taking, and had worked closely with a tour company to ensure we would have smooth travels. The objectives they had set for our class to accomplish seemed reasonable. It included some readings from a text book, and attending lectures while we were on our trip. However, they ultimately hoped that we would immerse ourselves in the new cultures that we would be experiencing.
Our studies began in London, England for four days. Following a day trip to Oxford, our group headed for Dover. At this point, we took a ferry across the English Channel to Calais, France. Once we were 0n the continent, our stops included Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Innsbruck, and Heidelberg. In total, our trip visited six European countries in a 14 day period.
Once we had safely returned to the United States, our final task was writing a paper that discussed any of the topics that we discussed in lectures. The paper may have been a requirement of the course, but I know that many of my fellow travelers felt that it helped them to thoughtfully compose the incredible experience that we shared.
The trip itself was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I will always cherish the memories that I made through it. However, I was also lucky enough to also make lasting bonds with people that I may not have had the chance to meet without this course. My experience with faculty led study trips was incredible, and in the future I will absolutely look to do more of them.
Nate Sprunk is a senior Exercise Science major with a minor in Psychology. Nate is from Wexford, PA. He is currently treasurer of the Beta Sigma fraternity on campus. The summer after his junior year, he had an internship at Pittsburgh Veteran’s Administration Hospital located in Pittsburgh, PA.
Nate happens to be a good friend of mine. I roomed with his fiancé my junior year. Priya was a senior at the time and Nate was a junior. This past June, I was a bridesmaid at their wedding! The two of them had a busy summer working out their jobs, living arrangements, and adjusting to married life. I did not have the opportunity to keep in touch as much as I had hoped. This semester I have been able to catch up with Nate and hear more about his summer.
When I asked Nate about his role with the company and what he accomplished that summer he replied, “I was an undergraduate rehab intern. I assisted in the inpatient and outpatient clinics. I observed, cleaned equipment, escorted veterans back and forth from their rooms to the clinic, performed wheelchair follows, and I conducted an educational in-service project for the inpatient staff.”
I followed with, “Did you enjoy your experience?” Which he answered, “I did. I learned more about the field of physical therapy and how clinics operate. After my experience, I feel more comfortable working in a clinical setting.”
Nate did not receive a job offer from Pittsburgh Veteran’s Administration Hospital. He still has to attend graduate school to work as a Physical Therapist, but Nate could potentially complete one of his clinical rotations at the same VA clinic in the future. He plans on staying in the Pittsburgh area after graduation to live with Priya and stay close to their families.
On Friday, Oct. 26, Grove City College hosted the BEST Robotics competition. Dr. Bright, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, began Wolverine BEST at Grove City College several years ago. This competition provides middle through high school students in the Western Pennsylvania area exposure to engineering, science, and technology. The Wolverine BEST challenge is one of only two BEST Hubs in the Commonwealth of PA. The event serves as an opportunity for Grove City College to showcase its nationally ranked engineering program.
This year, I participated as a Marketing Judge for the competition. Twenty-three schools participated in this year’s competition and I was to judge four of them on marketing presentations for their robots. The volunteer judges met before the competition to go over the rules and rating system we would be using that evening. The marketing presentations took place in different rooms in the Hall of Arts and Letters. There were four judges per room. The students, either middle or high schoolers, would have roughly 20 minutes to present their robot to the panel of judges. The last 10 minutes were set aside for any questions the judges may have. In my room, I was the only judge that was a student at Grove City College. The rest of the judges were faculty members at the College or local businessmen or women. It felt very much like I was on an episode of Shark Tank. After the students exited the room, the judges would converse about our thoughts on the presentation. Of the four groups of students, there was quite a wide range from students who were beyond prepared to those who were very nervous.
To me, I was very impressed with all of the presentations I had the chance to witness. These students clearly had ambition and drive, and at such a young age. I was thankful to have had this opportunity to meet new faculty members and the determined middle school and high school students.
A question one of the judges in my panel asked every group that presented was, “What would you like to do in the future?”
The answers varied from “I would like to be a mechanical engineer,” to “I want to graduate high school.”
My favorite answer was actually said by five of the students that went through our room that evening, and that was, “I am hoping to get accepted to Grove City College.”
Hearing this from such impressive and inspiring young men and women reminded me of how appreciative and thankful I am to attend an institution like Grove City College.
Professor Jeff Buxton, a professor of exercise science at Grove City College, is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in Exercise Science from the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. He currently holds an M.S. in Exercise Science from California University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Kinesiology from Penn State University.
Professor Buxton has a wife, Mandie, and three children, Cayden (8), Elliya (6), and Amya (2). On campus, professor Buxton is a faculty advisor for Exercise Science Club, a faculty advisor for IRON, a member of the Wellness Committee, and he teaches multiple classes on campus, including: Introduction to Exercise Program Design, Personal Training, Exercise Prescription, Research Methods, Biomechanics, Research Practicum, Certified Exercise Physiologist. He has been a professor at Grove City College for six years.
Currently, Professor Buxton is completing his dissertation with the project: “The Effects of a Novel Ground-based Movement Training Program on Functional Movement, Range of Motion, and Muscular Strength and Endurance.” A dissertation is the primary project that is completed as part of a doctoral degree. In general, it is a research project of some kind that is carried out by the doctoral student under the guidance of their faculty and a dissertation committee, which is chosen by the student. This project is a necessary requirement to complete for the doctoral degree Buxton is pursuing.
When asked to “define” the project that he is working on, professor Buxton said, “My project will be looking at the effects of ground-based movement training on select fitness characteristics, including functional movement abilities, dynamic motor control, joint range of motion and muscular strength and endurance. Ground-based movement training (GBMT) is a style of training that explores and utilizes dynamic human movements. The quadrupedal position (all fours) is the base for most GB movements and often these movements mimic those of the animal kingdom! GBMT generally involves crawling patterns, rolling, specific poses or postures and transitions between these poses.”
The project will be a simple pre-test/post-test design. After pre-testing subjects will be randomly assigned to either eight weeks of GBMT (60min sessions 2x/week) or a control group (simply maintain current physical activity). After the eight-week intervention professor Buxton and his research group will perform a post-test and analyze the results.
When asked what data collection is involved with this dissertation, Buxton said, “We plan to collect body composition changes (fat mass, fat free mass, etc.), joint range of motion scores for the shoulders, hips and ankles, Functional Movement Screen scores (functional movement quality), Y-Balance test scores (dynamic motor control for upper and lower extremities), hand grip strength and pushup test scores (upper body muscular endurance).”
As far as procedure goes when completing this dissertation, there were many different components. First, his project had to meet the approval of his doctoral degree concentration track director. It then had to be approved by the universities head of research. From there the project proposal had to be approved by his dissertation committee members. He said, “At this point I am now awaiting approval from both Grove City College and Rocky Mountain University’s IRBs (Institutional Review Board). Once I have both IRB approvals, I can begin recruiting subjects and eventually collecting data.”
While waiting, he is pilot testing his methods with the help of student research assistants. According to Buxton, there is no concrete completion date for the dissertation, other than the seven years provided for most doctoral students. He said, “My hope is to begin and finish data collection this upcoming spring and then to defend my project at the end of the summer.”
Grove City students were visited this week by representatives of Cameron Energy Company. Cameron Energy is an company that is unique for the industry that they find themselves in. They operate as a small scale fracking company with a strong commitment to improving the environment.
The representatives that visited Grove City spoke to Dr. Stephen Jenkins’ Environmental Science class to give his students a basic understanding of the fracking process. However, they also talked about some of the precautions they take to ensure that they leave the environments of the sites they frack minimally influenced.
Later in the week, Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Kriley escorted several of their students to a live Cameron Energy fracking site. Twenty-four Grove City students, accompanied by their professors made the trip to the woods of Allegheny National Forrest to observe the fracking site. This unique opportunity allowed students to get a first hand look at the fracking process, and allowed them to become better informed in regards to the effects that fracking has on the environment.
Dr. Jenkins said, “I was blown away by the response that we got. I expected only two or three students would be able to find the time in their schedule for this sort of thing, but I am very pleased with the turnout we got.” Despite this field trip being completely optional, many students made the effort to be able to attend.
Fracking is a very hot button topic not only in Pennsylvania, but in the national discussion of our dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels. By simply hearing from the Cameron Energy representatives in class, our students were becoming better versed in a highly debatable issue, which is very beneficial. However, presented with an opportunity to see firsthand what goes into this process is a testament to students taking a real interest in their studies, and expanding their learning opportunities to outside of the classroom.
Kiley Hajek is a senior Marketing Management major from Butler, Pa. The summer after her junior year, Kiley had an internship with Highmark Health in Pittsburgh. Being a Marketing Management major myself, I was curious to hear what Kiley did with Highmark this past summer.
When I asked Kiley about her role with the company and what she accomplished that summer she replied, “I was interning in their Community Affairs Department. I was in charge of coordinating two separate volunteer days for the other 120 interns working in the Downtown Pittsburgh office for the summer. I also helped with employee PTO volunteer days. I worked on internal communications for Community Affairs and worked on several fundraising projects. I also researched applicants to the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community.”
I followed with, “Did you enjoy your experience?” Which she quickly answered, “I really enjoyed my experience. I didn’t know that Community Affairs existed in large corporations before this summer, and I learned a lot about the department and its function in the company. I also loved working in downtown Pittsburgh. I parked my car about 20 minutes from my building and rode a bike from the bike sharing company, Healthy Rides, every day, which was quite the experience. I definitely saw the city in a whole new light this summer. After working there this summer, I realized that I think I will thrive in a smaller non-profit environment, where I can feel that my work is helping people, and where I feel challenged in the variation of my day to day tasks. I learned a lot this summer about myself and what I want to do after graduation, so I am very thankful for the experience!”
Kiley acquired this internship through the help of her advisors in the Business and Marketing Department. Her opportunity at Highmark is just another example of the connections and possibilities available for Grove City College students.
Nate Curry, a 2019 senior, may seem like your average student athlete, but last summer he had a major experience with Major League Soccer (MLS) at its National Sales Center. Located in Blaine, Minn., Nate spent the summer as an intern supporting the current crop of post-graduates who were going through the sales training program themselves.
An internship at Grove City can be used for class credit if it meets the criteria set forth by each academic department. A few of these requirements may include regular contact with your faculty advisor, logging your hours worked, and a paper to reflect on your time as an intern. Depending on the number of hours of work an intern does, they can receive an upwards of six hours of class credit. A student’s faculty advisor for their internship will be a professor who has had firsthand experience in that type of work. This has proven to benefit our students because they can go into their internships knowing what they can expect, as well as being aware of what challenges they may be faced with.
I sat down with Nate and his faculty advisor, Dr. Scott Powell, to discuss what Nate’s experience at the National Sales Center was like. Dr. Powell also gave us some insight on the advantages of doing an internship for academic credit, as well as why Grove City encourages all of their students to take advantage of those benefits.
Dr. Powell and Nate went more in depth on Nate’s internship, the importance of an academically verified internship, and what it looks like to be a Christian in a secular work environment. If you are interested in learning more about these topics, you can view our full interview here: https://youtu.be/_RBSy-zZfAo
“An auditor’s job is to perform tests of a company’s financial statements and perform other various assurance acts to provide their clients and their client’s stakeholder’s confidence in the preparation of financial statements and confidence in the processes in place at a client’s location. ”
In having performed an audit internship, I would like to believe that I worded this brief description of an auditor’s duties in a way that not everyone would understand, and if you are one of those who does not understand, there is no need to fret. It will come to you. The vocabulary I used, which is hopefully what made my description harder to understand (if it was the way I write what do you expect? I am an accounting major, not an English major), leads to my first audit tip. When you arrive on the first day of your internship, take notes on the vocabulary and acronyms commonly used at the firm. In taking notes, it will provide you more confidence and make you more comfortable in day to day conversations with fellow employees of the firm and their clients. Also, by making it a point to learn this vocabulary and lingo, it will better prepare you to be successful in your internship and in your career as an auditor. One final note in applying this strategy of close observation and use of audit vocabulary is do not be afraid to ask what something means. Most firms love when incoming staff and interns ask questions, so stand out of the crowd and ask!
My second, and equally crucial tip is to refresh your Microsoft Excel, Word, and PDF skills. This is crucial because most firms’ software simply uses these applications for documentation for their work papers. So, by keeping up to date with your knowledge of these applications and by continuously learning new formulas and ways to do tasks in these types of applications, your efficiency on the job will be increased and will surely impress your employer. Even if you refresh your skills and it turns out your firms’ software does not use these applications, these are applications that you will commonly use for tasks outside of the audit, so comprehending how to perform tasks quickly via these applications will make you more efficient and more effective in work and in life.
My third tip for a soon to be (or not soon to be) audit intern would be to not fall into the common college student mindset and think that what you learned in your first two to four years of college was a waste just because a lot of the skills used by an auditor on a daily basis do not seem to implement much of what you learned. When you find yourself in conversation with fellow engagement team members, this knowledge learned throughout your time in college should provide you insight on what is the correct way to account for a specific situation or what a general journal entry to record depreciation should look like. Although you may find yourself during the internship questioning what you learned throughout your time in college and its application to this potential job opportunity you are/will be working at, there will be glimpses of times where you find yourself in a discussion being able to contribute something to the conversation or being able to have some insight on the topic to help the team understand some entry or to catch a potential issue. It is these small things that can generally make or break an engagement and if you keep in mind what you have learned over the past few years, this will contribute to your success as an auditor.
These are three of my main tips I would give to anyone pursuing an internship in the field of audit. With this being said, there are many more resources out there for current and future auditors. So do not be afraid to search the web or even look into and keep up with the current Accounting Standard Updates (ASU). Also, if you are interested in reading about more tips in audit or college or any topic let us know! Feel free to comment on this blog or to contact the blog via the contact tab with your own questions. We would love to help!
So, you just read a whole blog post and you have not learned anything? You are right where you were before the start of the blog and are still (A) confused what audit is and reading this for future reference or (B) waiting for some tips for that internship you start next month.
No matter which group you may fall into, you are probably a bit confused and slightly annoyed, but this is normal. This is all part of the process of being an audit intern. You start unsure, then get stressed with all of the pressure of interviews and networking, then you finally get an offer and you become dazed and confused about what you just got yourself into. That is what I am here for, though. In providing tips, I hope to not just give you the general speech telling you that there is no way to prepare for it (that I noted in the previous blog). Instead, I hope to supply you with some useful advice and necessary skills, which will supply you the opportunity to be successful in this internship you will receive (or have already received).
So, let us finally get started. You have this internship and you want to be prepared and ready to take it on and provide the employer your best effort, but how do you do that and what is audit? For those of you who do not know what audit is, the best place to start this journey is to first describe and discuss what an auditor does. An auditor’s job is to perform tests of a company’s financial statements and perform other various assurance acts to provide their clients and their client’s stakeholder’s confidence in the preparation of financial statements and confidence in the processes in place at a client’s location. It is with this definition that we can move on into the final blog of the series and really dig into both what this career path known as audit is and FINALLY hear the precious tips you have been waiting quite patiently for.
Are you an incoming freshman planning on majoring in accounting or a college student looking for an accounting internship? If so, you may find this blog a bit helpful and encouraging.
At some point over the next couple of years, when you decide to start looking for an internship (or if you already started looking), you are bound to come across a lot of audit internship opportunities. The reasoning for this is twofold. First, audit internships are usually the main internship opportunity that public accounting firms offer during the summer due to their year-round need. Secondly, because early in the school year (September/August and around the time of the Career Fair), is when the Big Four accounting firms (EY, Deloitte, PwC and KPMG) start hiring, this is also when regional firms begin looking. With this abundance of opportunities and the encouragement of your colleagues and friends, you will then (if you have not already started) go out and apply at these firms. In applying, your goal is to get an interview. In doing so, you will go through your first, second, and, yes, even third round of interviews at these various firms. Then, if you are one of the lucky ones, get an offer.
So, now that you have this offer (or offers), you will more likely than not find yourself in the place I once was a short six months ago. You have an internship at a public accounting firm in audit, but if you were asked to tell someone what an audit was you would not even know where to start. Even with your lack of knowledge of the field you accepted the offer anyway and act confident and cool, when deep inside you are having a mini-heart attack because you are not sure what auditing even is and everyone you talk to who has had an internship in audit before just tells you that, “Audit is different. Class can’t really prepare you for what you will be doing on a daily basis as an auditor,” which, if I’m being honest, is true to some extent but this is where I come in…
