The Intern Diaries (Week 1): A Hightower Hello

The Hightower Summer Internship is a 10-week long program focused on helping college students love our company so much that they decide to work with us full-time! All jokes aside, this years’ team of 25 interns are career-minded, resourceful college students, and we’re very excited to have them for the next few months. Join us as we explore the thrilling trials and tribulations of a summer internship in financial services through a new blog series: The Intern Diaries.

First Day in the Second City

Last week the summer interns experienced the Hightower Chicago office for the first time. Their first day began with a Willa Wonka-esque tour of the building — and not unlike the Chocolate Factory, we also have tubes full of candy and snacks. So far, morale has been high, and that’s (hopefully) not just from all the free food and merch. Here’s what one of our new team members had to say:

Marketing Intern Cecilia Miskowski noted, “My first week at Hightower has already proven to be an amazing experience. I’m excited to be part of such a multi-faceted marketing team and to learn more about Hightower’s growth initiatives. Working with industry professionals who are eager to answer any questions, give advice and share their own unique career journeys has made this internship incredibly valuable and inspiring.” Love to hear it, CeCe!

Summer Lunching Had Me A Blast

Throughout the week, the interns were whisked away to some fancy lunches, met most of their teammates and got started on some new projects. On Tuesday, Chief Development Officer Matthias Kuhlmey kicked off the Brown Bag Lunch series. Intended as a way for the interns to get exposure to different facets of the business and its practice areas, the lunches are hosted each week by a different Hightower executive leader. The interns were fascinated by Matthias’ background and experience. Says Investment Solutions Intern Sean Salamante, “It was great to hear Matthias discuss his career path to Hightower. From pursuing a career in music to being a part of the original Hightower team, his insights on identifying trends and being a part of Hightower’s growth were insightful!” Rock on, Sean.

The interns also had lunch with Hightower CEO Bob Oros. Bob pulled out his favorite party trick and was able to name almost everyone’s college mascot. (Please join my trivia team, Bob!) He offered some great insights into Hightower’s culture and what it means to be a successful leader. He also shared how his career journey led him to becoming CEO! Diversity and Development Intern Paola Gonzalez added, “A take away that I had from the lunch with Bob was that it is important to take time to care for yourself. It’s easy to get overly caught up in work and have your life be surrounded around your job. I learned that it is possible to succeed in your work without losing sight of who you are and what you love to do. Giving myself space and time will allow me to continue doing the work I enjoy without losing my motivation and passion.” Spoken like a true work/life balance pro.

Reflecting on her week, Field Supervision Intern Virginia Hiteshew said, “I’m currently working on a SMARSH* project which has been very engaging and fun. I really enjoyed talking to Matthias and Bob during the Brown Bag lunches, as I learned a lot about the start of Hightower from Matthias and the growth of Hightower from Bob.” Sounds like a SMARSHing success so far!

*social media archival tool used by compliance team

Week one’s in the books! Check back later to see what the interns are circling back to and following up on.