Internship Reflection: Jeffrey Colucci '21

This past summer, I interned at Visions Federal Credit Union as a Member Service Representative, a fancy name for a bank teller. I began my experience with three weeks of training. My day consisted of processing basic teller transactions such as making a deposit or withdrawal for a member to involved transactions like creating a bank check, cashing savings bonds or answering questions. I never felt alone on the job as all of my co-workers were always there for me and wanted to see me succeed.

At first, some members were hesitant for me to help them in such an important capacity as I am just a “kid” doing an adult’s job but as time went on that was not the case and some members preferred me helping them.

When I went into the internship, I definitely did not expect to be trusted with my own code for the vault, a set of keys and access to all members and records. In my head I thought I was just a kid in college, but to the company and my co-workers I was a valuable employee just like anyone else.

My favorite part of every week was when the Federal Reserve would make a delivery. Similar to ordering a pizza, every week we would order a certain amount of money in various denominations and the Fed delivered it! I was also responsible for referring members to various products at the credit union such as CD’s, credit cards and mortgages, which helped me improve my ability to sell and interact with others more personally.

I furthered my customer service skills each day, remembering the customer is always right. An intern is trusted to do everything other employees do, working alongside other experienced staff members no matter how silly or important a job may be, not just getting coffee or making copies.

I secured my next internship for this upcoming semester at McGrail, Merkel Quinn & Associates as an accounting Intern. I am very excited to be a part of an accounting firm during the busy tax season and feel even more confident as a result of the last internship I completed.

I highly recommend every student, no matter your major or year, to attend the Career Expo which is held on campus every semester. I met recruiters from both companies at the Career Expo, and when it came time for me to apply to these internships, the recruiters already knew me. I could not have secured my internships without the help of the staff at the Center for Career Development and the resources they offer such as Mock Interviews and Handshake. My advice to any student hoping to obtain an internship would be to attend the Career Expo, participate in other networking events on campus, create a LinkedIn profile and find a mentor or someone who can help you navigate the internship search.

Scranton has a great Alumni network that all students should take advantage of as connections are so valuable to your career success. Cheryl Collarini at the Career Center has been instrumental in my success thus far and always tells me “Who you know will get you the internship you desire, and what you know will keep you there and lead you to success.”