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The Pace University Small Business Development Center's (SBDC) talented student interns have worked alongside our business advisors, and post graduation landed impressive roles at J.P Morgan Chase, Condé Nast and American Express among others!
Click a name to learn more about their experience working for the center and how it helped them land their current role.
Taiwo Adegoke, Treasury Associate at JPMorgan Chase & co
What is your current job/position and can you explain some of your day-to-day duties?
I am a Treasury Associate/Data Analyst at JPMORGAN & Chase. My duties include building Tableau Dashboards for treasury related data, in order to improve decision making by end users, using Alteryx to automate manual processes done through Excel, thus improving operating efficiency and to build data workflows in order to organize, structure and produce data output that is relevant for input into Tableau for the purpose of aiding data visualization and interpretation.
What was your overall experience interning at the Pace SBDC?
My experience at Pace SBDC was a remarkable and fulfilling one. I got to meet small business owners with amazing business venture ideas and established businesses. I was very passionate about reading challenging business plans & their underlying assumptions, and helping to educate small businesses on improving their business models. We were a small and powerful team armed with unique specialties. The Pace SBDC Director and Certified Business Advisors were down-to-earth, caring and personable. I always came to work happy because I had the backing of my Director and business advisors. They gave me opportunities to work on different projects including business plan reviews, construction procurements, creating marketing plans and financial projections, which went a long way to help me as a Business Advisor at the Brooklyn Small Business Development Center and current role at JPMORGAN as a Financial Professional. I can offer one or two sound business advice to any business client.
What are some of your key takeaways of being a student intern at Pace SBDC?
Learn as much you can. Be enthusiastic about working with the business advisors and be a good and reliable support. And be impact-minded right from the time you pick up that call to schedule an appointment for a small business owner, to reviewing business plan or working to get a small business loan.
You can find Taiwo on his LinkedIn.
Tiffany Boodram, Senior Licensing Associate for Condé Nast
What was your overall experience interning at the Pace SBDC?
My overall experience at the Pace SBDC was extremely positive! It was a great learning experience and interning at the Pace SBDC has prepared me for a business environment.
What skills have you taken from interning at Pace SBDC into your current job?
I was able to develop a variety of important skills at the Pace SBDC which I still use in my current job. Life-long skills I have taken my internship to my current job duties are computer proficiency, efficient time-management, organizational skills and leadership. Moreover, I was able to join in on a lot of client meetings with all of the business advisors. This taught me how to create business plans and utilize different marketing tactics for small businesses. The team at Pace SBDC allowed me to assist and take the lead on various meetings which pushed me to be more confident in my role.
How has the experience at Pace SBDC helped you advance in your career goals?
I was able to develop leadership traits that helped me collaborate with my coworkers efficiently. The team at Pace SBDC were not only my coworkers, but they acted as mentors that helped guide me in my future career path.
What are some of your key takeaways of being a student intern at Pace SBDC?
You need to take initiative in every role and be ambitious towards your goals. Be the first to share new ideas, ask for more projects, or even volunteer for something outside of your job responsibilities.
You can find Tiffany on her LinkedIn or Instagram: @Breakfastwith.Tiffany.
Pace SBDC Intern Alumni Spotlight - Career Paths
Vanessa Canarte, Case Management Associate at Policygenius
What is your current job/position and can you explain some of your day-to-day duties?
My current job is at Policygenius, a broker for life insurance. I'm currently a case manager and assist the client from post sales through underwriting all the way to an offer, with any of our 10 carriers. My job is to personalize and communicate with clients for requirements that are needed during underwriting on behalf of the underwriter. This may include lab results, medical records, etc.
What skills have you taken from interning at Pace SBDC into your current job?
I learned the ability to personalize my communication with clients so they always have a very pleasant experience. There's no face to face contact at my current position, but its just as important to make a client feel like they are talking with a human as they have concerns and qualms that can come up during the process.
What are some of your key takeaways of being a student intern at Pace SBDC?
Interning at Pace SBDC taught me the fundamentals of a business that I carry through in my current position, as I handle business applications and business clients. I also enjoyed asking the advisors different questions for more knowledge as every client was different than the one prior.
You can find Vanessa on her LinkedIn or Instagram: @_nesssssaa
Vansh Shah, Account Associate at Wix
What is your current job and can you explain some of your
day-to-day duties?
My daily duties as an account associate at Wix are generating new business opportunities, driving growth with current Wix users and engaging with high-value Wix clients. Further, I am responsible for the very early stages of a sales cycle.
What was your overall experience interning at the Pace SBDC?
My overall experience was beyond perfect! Being an international student, pursuing an MBA in Entrepreneurial Studies, I got first-hand experience of working with 100’s of small businesses. All the business advisors were very knowledgeable in their fields and were more than willing to share their knowledge with me. Andrew was more of a mentor to me than a supervisor/manager. I was always taught to learn from the work I did and given enough flexibility to manage my work and studies.
What skills have you taken from interning at Pace SBDC into your current job?
Similar to my time at SBDC, I work directly with a lot of business owners/clients at Wix. The skills I developed at SBDC are coming really handy in my current job while I deal with the clients, such as project management, time management, communication, financial and business acumen, etc.
What are some of your key takeaways of being a student intern at Pace SBDC?
To always be… learning! The vast variety of businesses I worked with during my time at Pace SBDC helped me immensely develop my business and many other skills.
You can find Vansh on his LinkedIn.
Jaslin Singh, Senior Marketing Analyst at American Express
What is your current job/position and can you explain some of your day-to-day duties?
I am currently working as a Marketing Analyst with American Express. I am responsible for managing and executing 10 email marketing campaigns on a rolling basis and work with cross functional teams to ensure timely delivery of these campaigns.
What was your overall experience interning at the Pace SBDC?
It was definitely a great experience as I was exposed to the small business world and got a chance to work with different kinds of clients. All my responsibilities honed my communication skills and prepared me for the corporate journey. Being a Marketing student, getting a chance to work on all social media channels, email marketing, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Website structure, and so forth, helped me prepare for my future career goals. I was also able to be a self-starter and implement what I learned in my marketing classes in practice.
What are some of your key takeaways of being a student intern at Pace SBDC?
Working at SBDC gave me a chance to conduct SEO audits for the clients which I am passionate about and wish to continue to do in my near future. Being a student intern at Pace SBDC gives you an opportunity to be self sufficient and experiment in the white space available. Andrew is a great leader who motivates you to lead and own your own projects and supports throughout. Working at SBDC also keeps you close to the business school and you can definitely learn more about the business world from a closer lens. I have always been able to flaunt my rich experience with SBDC in my job interviews.
You can find Jaslin on her LinkedIn.