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Senior Gary Stevenson Utilizes Business Courses at Internship

Taking specific business concepts learned in the classroom and implementing them in the real world is something that students strive to do at the Chaifetz School of Business. During the summer of 2018, Gary Stevenson, a senior studying accounting, interned at Ernst and Young, where he was able to apply previous knowledge from his coursework.

Gary Stevenson, accounting major

Gary Stevenson, a senior studying accounting, interned at Ernst and Young in summer 2018 where he expanded on his understanding of tax, audit and advisory service lines by applying previous knowledge from his coursework.

Stevenson worked in the rotational program at Ernst and Young, specializing in audit, tax and advisory service lines. These service lines focus on specific components of public accounting.

"Most accounting firms make you pick a service line day one and most end up choosing randomly," Stevenson said. "I was fortunate enough to go through all the service lines and pick my favorite."

Applying Classroom Lessons in the Real World

Stevenson chose the advisory service line to focus his attention toward and improve his expertise in that specific area of accounting.

"It's my favorite service line because it's tech-driven and offers a lot of opportunities in the industry," Stevenson said. "You also get to travel to some nice places."

The business concepts that were utilized in his internship built upon information Stevenson learned in his accounting courses, specifically Financial Reporting II taught by Associate Professor Helen Hurwitz, Ph.D.

"Financial reporting helped me understand what adjustments I should be looking for and understand why they get added or subtracted from income," Stevenson said. "It also impressed my managers that I knew what to do given that I had no formal [work experience]."

Landing the Internship

In perfecting his professional skills from resume workshops to mock interviews, the Chaifetz School's Career Resources Center assisted Stevenson in finding the right internship to suit his interests in advisory accounting service lines.

"The Career Resources Center was a big help in the process," Stevenson said. "Allison, the internship coordinator, looked over my resume countless times and even sat down with me to see which internships I should apply for." 

After graduation, Stevenson plans to study for the CPA exams and continue his education at the Chaifetz School of Business in the Master of Accounting program while also pursuing another internship with Ernst and Young in their Risk Advisory Service Department.