July 27 is National Intern Day, a day to pay tribute to and celebrate interns’ invaluable contributions to the world of business! The George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics is thrilled to honor this special day and the bright minds who are doing wonderful things as interns at their respective companies. Let’s take a look at some Argyros School students and learn more about their Summer 2023 internships!

Nicole Wong ’24

Title & Company: High Jewelry Intern at Cartier

Growing up, Nicole’s mom always talked about becoming a fashion buyer, and her love for fashion helped introduce her to the jewelry industry, but it was only when she studied abroad in London and visited Paris that Nicole saw firsthand how powerful these luxury goods companies were. As a Marketing major, Nicole found it interesting to see these companies’ impact by creating trends that could slowly trickle down to everyday retail stores. When she saw the internship with Cartier listed on LinkedIn, she immediately applied!

The culture is by far Nicole’s favorite thing at Cartier. “I was very nervous about being in a different environment and new state, but everyone here has been very welcoming and helpful,” says Nicole. “I also appreciate how progressive the company is. We had numerous pride events during pride month, volunteering activities, team-bonding moments, and almost everyone I interviewed was a person of color!”

When landing the internship, Nicole says she mass-applied to as many internships as she could. She first tried to figure out where she wanted to stay for the summer to help give her a more comprehensive range of opportunities. Nicole started applying end of January up until the beginning of March. “I really connected with the person I met with for my HR screening, and she helped me find more opportunities after our first interview, and I could not thank her enough for her help,” says Wong.

Nicole led on that interviewing is not a strength of hers due to nerves and getting in her head about her answers, but she soon came to realize that the people interviewing her are rooting for her. Her advice is to be confident and says they would not interview you if they did not want to talk to you. Understanding that they are people on the other side wanting to get to know her helped calm her nerves and gave her the ability to treat each interview like a regular, everyday conversation.

While Nicole has no idea what her future holds, she is excited to see what will happen next. She has always had numerous “dream jobs,” such as a teacher, fashion buyer, CMO, or even opening up her own non-profit. She says “This internship has created an interest in the luxury goods industry and shown me how important company culture is. Every day I show up to work excited to continue working because of the team I work with and the new lessons I learn each day about the high jewelry world!”

Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn >>>

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Prahita Magal ’23

Title & Company: Multiplatform Strategy and Planning Intern at NBCUniversal

As someone early in her career, Prahita has always been interested in how businesses planned and executed projects, campaigns, and a general path for the company. This opportunity with NBCUniversal was in an area that she is already familiar with and interested in, media, and she was very keen on learning how entertainment campaigns are executed. Moreover, Prahita feels like this was an opportunity in which she could learn about the area of marketing and promotional strategy since her short-term professional goal with any internship she was to take was to learn the most bout key business functions and verticals.

Some of Prahita’s favorite things about NBCUniversal are the resources for young professionals and the opportunities to engage with the larger business and talent. In her last summer internship as well as this current internship with NBCUniversal, Prahita has had the opportunity to regularly interact with recruiters, attend seminars on business goals, and financial and mental wellness seminars, too. She says “Additionally, every person within my team has been so encouraging and proactive with interacting with me and getting to know my professional background and goals; this is especially helpful to me accomplishing my career goals and building genuine connections.” Prahita says that NBCUniversal also has many employee resource groups and DEI initiatives that help her feel supported, but also says she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t a fan of the company’s perks: including being able to step onto the studio lot and movie premier screenings!

When it comes to looking for an internship, Prahita urges other students to “leverage the resources they have at Chapman and online, as well as build connections and a strong candidacy.” She recommends making multiple, if not regular, meetings with the Argyros Career Advancement team to have your resume and cover letter reviewed. However, more importantly, she says “It is very important that students have a strategy in place to go about a path to gain an internship or desired role as the people at the career office can certainly help you leverage your professional brand to do this!” Additionally, Prahita recognizes that the current 2023 economy can be shaky with regard to internships, so she recommends being productive and proactive in taking supplemental professional courses, obtaining professional certificates, as well as building connections with professors, alumni, and even classmates who are in a field of interest to you.

In the future, Prahita hopes to be in a role that is hands-on with data in some way. “As an Analytics minor, I hope to use the power and access of data in today’s modern infrastructure to help drive changes within companies that can translate to a better future,” she says. “My internships, including my current role, have given me the experience of acting with urgency, project management, using data to form insights, and interacting with various professionals. I believe that this foundation through my early career experiences will help me adapt to a role that can support business functions that utilize data to drive results.”

Connect with Prahita on LinkedIn >>>

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Bradley Parsons ’23, MBA ’24

Title & Company: Mergers & Acquisitions Research Intern at Harvey & Company LLC

The industries of both mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity within the world of finance drew Bradley to learn more about this internship, and what Harvey & Company LLC had to offer. His favorite things about Harvey & Co are that it is one of the few buy-side firms in the M&A industry, so he is able to learn a lot about that process and what it entails. Not only that, but Bradley says that he is lucky to “get to work with great people every day, and it is located close by in Newport Beach.”

To secure his internship, Bradley reached out to a Chapman alum who currently works at Harvey & Company LLC, and got introduced to the hiring team through that new connection. From that point, there were a few more interviews, and then he received his official offer. If there’s any advice he could give to Argyros School students, it would be to “utilize your connections and Chapman’s network, and do not hesitate to reach out to mutual connections to ask for advice or an introduction.”

While Bradley’s future career moves are still in the works, he definitely knows that he wants to pursue something in the world of finance or international business. “My goal is to get a position in international finance, being able to live abroad in Europe. I think this internship will without a doubt help my career prospects, as I have learned a great amount about the fields of M&A and private equity across all industries.”

Bradley says that he could not have reached where he is now without the support and guidance of his incredible mentors at the Argyros School of Business & Economics, including Jim Dusserre, Chris Pagel, and Serena Healey.

Connect with Bradley on LinkedIn >>>

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Riley Day ’23

Title & Company: Financial Education and Participant Experience Analyst at Pacific Life Insurance

Riley Day, who is graduating from Chapman University in December 2023, is interning locally in Newport Beach this summer for Pacific Life Insurance. She’s always wanted to work in business but didn’t know exactly if finance is what she wanted to pursue after college, considering she also has experience in human resources and finds a lot of joy in that field, too.

Riley’s internship is in a branch of finance that she hadn’t known existed and therefore was interested in exploring the opportunity to see if it was a career path that she’d like to take. She is really enjoying each new project that she gets to work on weekly, and expanding her knowledge in both the field of finance and life insurance. Riley says “I feel I understand a lot more about retirement savings and the necessary steps to take in my future career to accomplish my goals. Everyone I’ve met is extremely welcoming and kind and I work with an amazing team!” She also says that her internship with Pacific Life Insurance has opened her eyes to the corporate world and her understanding that there are various directions a career in finance could take her – learning what she does and doesn’t enjoy about the field.

Before accepting her offer, Riley was contacted by a recruiter via LinkedIn who urged her to apply. From there, the recruiter guided Riley through the process, and when it came to preparing for the interview, she reached out to one of her professors for advice. She asked questions on what they would look for in someone in her position with her specific background and how to navigate questions that she might not know the answer(s) to. Riley says that she made sure to express her answers with confidence and not get too stuck on the details in those answers.

Riley’s advice to others is to respond to recruiters who message you through LinkedIn, as she did. “A lot of the time those messages are spam, but a few are from recruiters who genuinely want to get you the job and if it’s within the field you’re looking into, then reach back out to them and see where the opportunity goes,” she says. “Also, if you’re a nervous interviewer like I am, talking to professors and people who have experience as an interviewer is extremely helpful and can boost your confidence significantly. And don’t think it’s the end of the world if you don’t get the position. I was happy enough to get experience in the interview and I learned a lot about my interviewing habits in the process.”

Connect with Riley on LinkedIn >>>

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Kate Miller ’24

Title & Company: Account Analyst Intern at PIMCO

Kate Miller, a double major in Economics and Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance, is no stranger to what it means to intern with PIMCO. Kate first took an internship with PIMCO during her sophomore year where she worked in the Newport Beach office. Taking a return offer in New York City was a huge motivation to return to a new environment and continue building relationships at a supportive firm while meeting other interns at different financial firms. Kate says that “PIMCO has amazing intellectual talent from senior leaders, incredible opportunities for interns to meet senior leadership, and plenty of challenging projects to take on during the summer.”

Kate’s favorite thing about her internship experience with PIMCO is the exposure she is getting from working in an office and attending meetings where people with five times her investment experience, and hearing them talk about high-level concepts. “I just soak it up, put in to work in my intern deliverables, and enjoy the intern events that PIMCO organizes for us that have included pasta making, competitive bowling, and rooftop happy hours,” says Kate.

Before landing at PIMCO, Kate says that she applied to more than 50 internships, waiting for one to stick. “Sometimes,” she says, “it’s just a numbers game.” Once she heard back, she did a HireVue for PIMCO and then a full SuperDay with 8 interviewers before receiving an offer her sophomore year. She says that the most important part was falling into an extremely supportive environment and that she is grateful to the number of professors she’s had at Chapman who give her constant career advice, and her peers who forced her to keep applying even when morale was low.

Kate believes that internships are a key part of the summer to get real-life work experience and meet people who are outside of the bubble of your high school or college. “I’ve made incredible connections through interning with extremely smart college students that are global in origin,” she says. “Interning with PIMCO has taught me valuable office skills, incredible exposure to senior leaders, and a network of college students with great futures ahead.”

When it comes to merging internship experience with classroom experience, Kate says that it is the ability to get highly involved at Chapman, with programs such as the Janes Financial Center Residency, a factor that some larger schools may not have, that is a huge component of landing internships, showing not only great leadership but a simple initiative that goes a long way.

Connect with Kate on LinkedIn >>>

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