Danielle Sakowki of Freehold, Monmouth County, wasn’t kidding when she said she takes her learning beyond the classroom… she was talking 75 hours a week! Through a supervised internship course taken January through March, Danielle received 3 credits for a paid internship with KPMG, one of the Big 4 Firms in accounting. KPMG is one of the largest professional services firms in the world that provides audit, transaction advisory, taxation, consulting, risk advisory, and actuarial services. Danielle interned in the audit department, performing tasks daily which included Excel calculations and formatting of spreadsheets, manual testing of client’s company controls using samples and rolling forward lead sheets and documents from the prior year files.
Her days began at 8 am and often went until 9 pm or later, Monday through Friday, sometimes Saturday too. Danielle surely dove head first into the accounting world with this internship and she loved every second of it. This opportunity provided Danielle with the experience to see what she excels in (no pun intended) within accounting, and the chance to travel around. Throughout January-March, the busy season of accounting, Danielle worked on three different accounts in various states. Some weeks, her company would provide hotel rooms, in Maryland for example, for her and the team to stay, working closer with the company at that time.
This extremely competitive internship almost always guarantees a full-time job upon graduation, and Danielle was offered just that.
“It’s important to talk to professors and make connections. You never know what opportunities will arise. I established my connection with KPMG last semester when I competed in an Ethics Case Competition sponsored by them. Our professor in charge used to work for KPMG. One conversation led to another and then I found myself with an interview in Philadelphia. I luckily landed the internship with a few other students from Villanova, Saint Joe’s and Penn State,” says Danielle.
The Rohrer College of Business offers accelerated internships to students like Danielle who work full-time January through March. When they return to campus, students can take three accelerated courses to finish the remainder of the semester without falling behind. It’s a prime example of taking classroom knowledge to the professional grounds, but coming back to learn more.
“It’s a lot easier to make these connections than students think. Get involved!”
Take Danielle’s advice so you too can have an opportunity like this one.
Story and photos by:
Vanessa Vause, senior double major public relations and advertising
Beyond the Classroom highlights Rowan University-provided experiences outside of traditional classroom learning that complement and support students’ career aspirations during this pre-professional phase in their lives.
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