Internships Help Meredith Students Go Strong

Internships are an essential part of a Meredith College education. Strong ties with the community and employers make sure students and graduates are prepared to thrive in their professional careers.

CAPTRUST, a retirement plan and wealth management company in Raleigh, N.C., invited three student interns to continue their work with the agency during the 2022 fall semester.

Cameron Blue, ’22

Cameron Blue, ’22, worked as a recruiting intern starting in March of 2022 and now works full-time as a recruiting coordinator for CAPTRUST after graduating in December 2022.

As the 2022 president of Meredith’s Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) chapter, Blue was able to network with several professionals in human resources. During a 2020 competition, she met her now manager Juanita Evans, who served as a judge for the event. 

“I was looking for internships, and my dad, who is a financial advisor, said, ‘You should look into CAPTRUST. I’ve heard it’s a really great place.’ I Googled it and saw they had something open, and I applied for the HR department specifically,” she said.

Blue received a call from Evans, who remembered her from the competition. After talking with Evans, Blue said the process of gaining the internship took off from there.

While an intern at CAPTRUST, Blue worked on interview scheduling, writing job descriptions, and posting open positions with the company. She said her comfort zone was challenged and she was encouraged to refine her analytical skills. 

“We had to do a final presentation to the executive board and all of the managers, and my project was fully analytics and showing the numbers of how many interviews I’d scheduled and how many hires came from those,” Blue said. “I was very surprised at the end how well it turned out, and that I knew what I was doing. I was impressed because I normally would not even have tried to do something like that.”

Blue said the foundation of knowledge she received at Meredith helped her feel more comfortable in a professional environment, and feel confident in being part of the conversations taking place around her. The combination of her classes at Meredith and her rigorous internship helped her feel better prepared for her career.

Ali Schuh, ’23

Ali Schuh, ’23, works as a Defined Contribution Intern, where her responsibilities include completing investment research requests and working on projects that help improve the efficiency of the CAPTRUST team.

Schuh found out about the summer CAPTRUST internship after her fall 2021 advising appointment with Anne York, program director and professor of economics. York has contacts with CAPTRUST, and asked if Schuh was interested in a finance internship, which is exactly what she had been looking for. 

“My advisor, Dr. York, has been so helpful when it came to choosing my mix of majors and minors and with my internship search. Dr. Maiser also helped me with my internship search as well. The professors here are always willing to stick their neck out for you to help you in any way possible,” said Schuh.

During her internship, Schuh said she was able to improve her technical and professional communication, and interpersonal skills. CAPTRUST also helped her define her interests and match them with her career path.

“It is important to love who you are working with and what you are doing, and CAPTRUST has given me both of those things. Before this internship, I had no clue what I wanted to do, and now I know exactly where and how I want to start my career,” she said.

Jessica Tan, ’24

Jessica Tan, ’24, had her first internship at CAPTRUST while she was still in high school. In the summer of 2019, she worked as a consulting research group intern and returned in May 2022 as a finance intern. 

Tan said her education at Meredith provided her with the skills to stand out and use her voice and become more comfortable with sharing her thoughts. This confidence helped her excel in her internship with CAPTRUST.

“You’ll get what you put into it. You’re in control of the connections you make, and the impressions you left on people,” Tan said. “I also learned people are always willing to meet with you and give you advice.”

When reflecting on their internship experience, all three students said one of their favorite memories was participating in the company’s summer kickball league. 

“That was one of the best parts,” said Blue. “It was a mixture of interns and full-time employees, so I feel like that’s where myself and other interns go to be on more of a personal level with full time employees at CAPTRUST.”

Tan echoed this statement and also added how it contributed to the overall culture and work environment at CAPTRUST in a positive way. Schuh said that it was fun to be competitive and spend time with her co-workers outside of work.

Schuh encourages every student to complete an internship during college. She said having professional work experience on a resume is the key to being successful after graduating and obtaining a job.

“Put yourself out there as much as you can,” she said. “When the search gets hard and you keep getting rejections, keep applying, that means something better is out there that you just haven’t come across yet.”