Patrick O’Connell, Senior Intern

As a first year intern, you really don’t know what to expect or what is expected of you. Mixed emotions of excitement and fear rattle your nerves for the first few weeks, which then lead to confidence by the end of your tenure. I have been lucky enough to return to Culloton Strategies for another year and new emotions surround this consecutive summer internship with the team. The excitement remains the same, but the fear has been replaced by intrigue. Even though I started less than a week ago, the difference between last year and now is that I am able to grasp the details, identify strategies and pick up new tips.

This summer I am fully charged with passion and a desire to grow. On my first day, the CS team wasted no time giving me tasks that I ended the summer doing last year. This set the tone that I was hoping for this time around. The team knows my capabilities and is willing to challenge me at higher degrees as I develop. After taking the skills I learned last summer back to the classroom at Illinois State University, I was able to further develop these skills into strengths, which will prove to be useful as I begin round two at Culloton Strategies.