Internship

It’s been almost two months since my internship started and I cannot believe how far I have come since. I started out with just a base knowledge from my tax class last fall and now I am actually able to apply it.

When a lot of people think about internships, they think that they’ll make copies and grab coffee for the bigwigs in the office. Sure, I have made a couple of copies, but I have done so much more. I am doing the same things, as I would be if it were in my first year as an employee. Up till now we have been focusing our attention heavily on businesses, as their deadline to turn in their tax return is March 15. This week and the following few weeks will be solely individual returns. The other five interns and myself received the “talk” yesterday saying we are now expected to have at least 50 billable hours per week. Wow. The last two weeks I had 53 hours, but only 42 were billable. I am looking forward to the long days ahead. And the OT.

Fortunately, I share a cubicle bay with my fellow interns. They are a fun group. Two of us even bought exercise balls to sit on that we pass around every couple hours. The cool thing about our intern “bullpen”, as we call it, has helped us immensely. We will ask each other questions before going to an associate or manager, which in turn allows the managers to work on the things they need to work on with less distractions.

I really like this accounting firm and I enjoy being around the employees. It is nerve-racking to think that everyday I go into work is like another job interview. The firm is seeing how I react to stress and how I interact with their employees. On the other hand, I am also interviewing the firm to see if I could see myself working there for the next few decades. That is why doing an internship is a great opportunity for students to partake in during their college years.

Living for the Weekend

I finally understand what it means to live for the weekend. After working at my internship for only forty hours a week for the past few weeks, I have come to thoroughly enjoy the two whole days to do nothing work-related. Whether it I’m busy or just relaxing, it just feels nice. For example, this last weekend I babysat, discovered a new restaurant in town, worked out, went to my little brother’s show choir competition, and of course watched the super bowl. Despite all these activities, it’s been a nice relaxing weekend.

Tomorrow it’s back to the hustle and bustle of my tax internship. Hopefully I’ll get a few tax returns done! On another note, UNI men’s basketball won this weekend! It was a great game against Creighton. A buzzer beater in fact. The men’s basketball team has really been on a roll lately. A couple years ago they were actually in the sweet sixteen. While we’re on it, the women were MVC champs last year. All of our sports teams are great and fun to watch. A few of the student athletes have been in my classes and they truly are students first while being amazing athletes.

Well, now that I am doing the 8am to 5pm this semester, it’s past my bedtime. Without UNI, I don’t think I would have had this same great experience.

Finals & an Internship

Hello. It has been entirely too long since I had written a blog post. I meant to do it the week before finals; however, I found studying for my final exams would have been a better use of my time.

Finals. Something to look forward to in college. Sure, we all had them in high school, but these tend to be more important. In high school there were a lot of “buffer” points. If you did badly on a test, you could still get an A or B easily by doing well on homework and in class activities. In college, sometimes it is just the exams that determine your grade in a class. This was a huge contrast that took some study habit changes to get used to.

I have learned a few tricks that will help you, with wherever you end up going to college. Most of these I have learned from experience, professors and my own mistakes.

• Read the material to be discussed before class. It may be time consuming, but will be totally worth it hearing the topics a second time.
• Talk to your professor. Let them know who you are and that you care about the class beyond the lectures (even if it’s not your favorite). By doing this, you may earn extra points if you are on the border between an A- and a B+. They can also be a great reference someday that you will need for a scholarship or job.
• Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask your professor or a classmate if you’re confused about something. Chances are, you are not the only one.
• Get involved. This could be in class, clubs for your major or just for fun. You could form study groups; learn from potential employers, all while adding something to your resume.

These are a few important tips that I really recommend. There are way more out there. I just searched google and found this website to be helpful: http://oedb.org/library/college-basics/88-surefire-tips

On another note, UNI’s semester began January 9^th. I will not be at school this spring, but will actually be doing a Tax Internship at McGladrey. As an accounting major, it is imperative to have an internship in the spring during tax season or at least during the summer. It really helps to have that experience on your resume. It’s not just important for accounting or even business majors. Any future employer will love the extra experience you have had in the past. Well, tomorrow is my first day. Wish me luck!

Liberal Art Core & Dorm Programs

Hello! So I’m sitting in my room after just finishing an essay and waiting for intramural volleyball to begin, so I thought I would blog! Classes have been crazy busy lately, as always… I like my business classes, but sometimes it would be nice to go back to freshman and sophomore year where I was pretty much only taking liberal arts classes. Despite the fact that many of those classes were time consuming, I definitely agree that UNI provided me with a well-rounded education.

My personal favorites were introduction to sociology, college writing and research, and oral communications. We had to write at least one page about anything every Friday, do a book report, and a research paper. Even though it may not seem enjoyable, I had a fun teacher and my writing and research skills improved immensely. In oral communications, I had to give three individual speeches as well as a group presentation. They were not as bad as it seems. With a class size of maybe 15 people, it was a lot less intimidating. That class really eased my anxiety of speaking in front of others. Finally, sociolology was by far my favorite because I enjoy the study of people. It may sound corny, but discussing reasons why interact the way they do fascinates me. The cool thing about all these classes are I am able to apply what I learned to my future career working with clients.

Each dorm has fun programs going on through the semester through their hall senates. So far my dorm has done a grilled cheese and root beer games, dance party, and we're planning minute-to-win-it and a holiday fiesta. It's fun getting involved in the dorms and it is a great leadership opportunity. In the past my previous dorms have tie-dyed shirts, duck taped our Resident Assistants to the wall, s'mores night, and much more. Participating in my dorm senate was one of the best things I did as a freshman. I was able to get involve early and had a great time gaining leadership skills while making friends. The picture shown is my friend and I going to a themed senate meeting. Theme: Twin Night.

Accounting & Fun

Hello again!

Being a senior accounting major is demanding, yet rewarding. The past few weeks I have been bogged down with assignments, tests, and projects. Now that I’m in my major classes, the lectures are more interesting, however, they can be a lot of work. Because I am a senior, I am looking for internships and full-time opportunities after graduation. I am actually at the Marriott Hotel in Des Moines the night before an interview with a Big 4 Accounting Firm. I’m excited, but a little nervous as well.

I am not as nervous as I would have been if it weren’t for UNI’s Career Services. They helped prepare me for tomorrow by doing multiple mock interviews with me as well as looking over and revamping my resume several times. They even brought in real companies to do mock interviews with me and other UNI students. One company I did a mock interview with actually offered me an internship for the summer!

To recap on the last few weeks:

I tailgated for the first time two weeks ago! (That is where the picture is from; I'm the short one) My friends and I brought a grill out to the parking lot before the football games and had a grand old time. We played bean toss and just hung out. It was a little crazy because it was homecoming, but it was still fun! Speaking of homecoming, there are so many activities the university puts on during the week prior to the homecoming football game. The dorms had themed days, where one day was neon day, superhero day, and of course panther pride day. One of my personal favorites is the panther pride cry. Various student organizations put together a short skit changing the lyrics of popular songs to words describing the homecoming theme.

I’m really into playing sports; I love watching them and playing them. At UNI, all the sporting events are free for UNI students. That means we can get into volleyball, soccer, football games, and swim meets with no charge! And I have been to all of these this year at least once J. Our volleyball team is very good and our football team is ranked second. Besides watching sports, I am actively involved in the intramurals. In the past, I have participated in intramural basketball, flag football, volleyball, badminton, a fun run, and dodge ball. My friend and I are currently in the semi-finals for co-rec racquetball. Intramurals are low-pressure and a lot of fun, not to mention a great workout. Since I’m in college and enjoy being active, I need to mention ultimate Frisbee. Especially in the first few weeks of school when it’s nice, there is most always a game of ultimate going on. The cool thing is, UNI students are super friendly and all-inclusive. I’ve met some cool people just by joining a random game of ultimate.

I plan on doing my next blog in a couple of weeks instead of in a month, so come back to see more of what the University of Northern Iowa has to offer!

Meet & Greet

Hello! My name is Jessica and I am from Cedar Rapids, IA where I was born and raised. I am in my fourth year at the University of Northern Iowa studying accounting and Spanish.

If you are reading this blog, you may have some interest in the University of Northern Iowa. If you are a high school student reading this, this blog is especially for you! A few years ago, I was in your shoes trying to determine which college or university was right for me. I wish I had had something like this blog, where I could see what a college student was actually going through.

One of my goals in writing this blog is to help high school students. I am also writing it to enlighten families and community members of the myriad of events and happenings on UNI’s campus.

A few more things about myself. Currently, I am actively involved with the Accounting Club and UNI Navigators, a campus ministry. This year I have decreased the number of organizations I am choosing to be involved in, so I am able to focus on my top level accounting classes my senior year. In the past, I have been involved with the UNI Programming Board, where we would put on programs for on-campus students; Phi Beta Lambda, a business organization; writer for the Northern Iowan, the student-run newspaper, and many others.

UNI has over 100 clubs and student organizations making it easy to get involved and meet new friends on campus. You will need to choose where you have an interest. But, if there is not an organization that interests you, you can do what my friend and I did and start your own club. He and I were on a jump rope team in our hometown and decided we would like to share the benefits of jumping rope to the students on campus, so we founded the UNI Jump Rope Club.

In this blog I plan on writing about my experiences as a UNI student. If you ever have questions about the University or any of my experiences, I am more than happy to answer them.