The Intern Diaries (Week 10): The Highly Anticipated Season Finale

Alexa, play “Graduation (Friends Forever)” by Vitamin C, because the summer interns are on their last week! There’s nothing like a commemorative song from before they were born to really get the tears flowing… quite literally for some, as my girl Sarah Welch shed a few tears on the Metra train after having to say goodbye to her partner-in-crime Paola Gonzalez.

Their last week was filled with an “end of summer camp”-like energy as they reflected on their time at Hightower and left us with some parting advice. Keep reading to see what they had to say! A handkerchief to wipe your tears is not included but heavily encouraged.

No Time Like the Presentation

Before they bid us adieu –  a word I do not recommend starting your Wordle with, despite the abundance of vowels – the interns were all given a chance to present to the group on their experiences at Hightower. Each team member shared their main projects and key takeaways as well as what improvements the internship program might benefit from moving forward. So, basically, they were given the chance to put us on blast. Thankfully, there were a lot of positive notes, and the feedback was very insightful. (To any office managers reading, the feedback was to give me, a very involved and hardworking employee, more free snacks.)

It was exciting to see how much career progress the interns made in such a short period of time; many came away with a clearer sense of what they want to do next, or found comfort in somewhat the opposite idea: the fact that they don’t have to have it all figure out. “Careers are not linear” was a powerful tagline for this group. Perhaps I will become a stylist for celebrity cats after all.

Gain a Culture Following

One of the other big themes that came from the presentations was an understanding that workplace culture is a critical piece to having success at work. Many of them said that prior to working at Hightower, they didn’t realize how culture and flexibility would make such an impact. In her presentation, Virginia Hiteshew said the company culture was one of her major takeaways. She notes, “Hightower makes me feel valued. I developed great relationships with the other interns.” She also enjoyed employee engagement in activities like a Cubs game outing and the Chase Corporate Challenge. (That’s the one where you run and exert yourself, so I did not participate.)

Many noted that culture will be something they look for and ask about as they pursue their careers. A major win if you ask me! If you’re panicking about how to do this, a pro tip is to check the bathroom for criers. More criers = more problems. But 4 real, we focus a lot on cultivating a strong corporate work culture here, so the supportive claims were much appreciated. You all deserve Star Intern of the Week. *Cue catchy jingle and jazz hands*

Signing the Hightower Yearbook of My Heart

Don’t cry it’s over, smile it happened! Before they peace out and head back 2 school, we polled the interns to get their final words of wisdom for future interns, co-workers, friends, my cat, etc. Here’s what they had to say:

“Don’t be afraid to ask your co-workers for coffee in order to ask them questions.” – Marketing Intern Ceci Miskowski (I’d still love a chai latte and a chat, sis)

“Make an effort to get to know your fellow interns.” – Finance Intern Andrew Willcocks

“Feeling out of place at the beginning is normal, and you will grow out of it.” – Accounting & Finance Intern Keegan Caveny, to which another intern replied “Awww” and all of our hearts melted.

“Take advantage of all the resources and professional development opportunities… Also, the Rogers Park conference room is the best spot in the office.” – HR Intern Paola Gonzalez

“Live, Laugh, Love!” – HR Intern and Paola Fangirl Sarah Welch

“Don’t be afraid to reach out to the ELT and other members of the firm for coffee chats to learn more about the other departments at Hightower.” – Investment Solutions Intern Sean Salamante perfecting the art of getting free cold brews.

“Don’t be afraid to talk to your managers and ask for support, work or resources! They are here to help you grow and gain experience; if you’re bored or idle, let them know.” – Solutions Strategy Intern Annie Chen

“The whales* are the best snack in the office.” – Field Supervision Intern Virginia Hiteshew with a controversial choice, since it’s obviously the M&M’s. ­­

*She means cheddar cracker whales; no marine animals were harmed in the making of this blog post.

“Ask questions if you don’t know what you’re doing! Managers would rather spend two minutes teaching you something than have you struggle for 30” – Operations Intern Anthony Krcik

“Careers aren’t linear.” – Everyone; it’s the soundtrack of the summer.

And after this we all played Hangman for an hour, and it was a beautiful day.

“Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by Green Day on Repeat

Well, that’s all folks. It’s been an adventure with Hightower highs (new learnings, Cubs games and office parties) and low lows (the week without any catered lunches), but we will take it in stride. Thanks for joining us week by week as we explored the internship together, and an extra shout out to the readers for tolerating all of my cringey puns. Third round of applause for the Summer ’22 interns for being determined, dedicated and dramatic (in the BEST way).

The Summer Internship might be over, but the Intern Diaries will never be… the next post will drop when you least (or most?) expect it. We’re keeping the mystery alive!