In this “Internship Experience” blog post series, we will be featuring the profile and thoughts of our students from Syracuse University’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management as they return from summer internships.
Name: Aastha Badlani
Graduation Year: May 2021
Program: M.S. in Finance
Hometown: Delhi, India
Intern Company/Title: Rookie Road – Finance & Strategy Intern
Describe your position and some of your daily tasks?
I am a Finance and Strategy Intern at Rookie Road, and my primary responsiblities include:
- Building Excel financial models to forecast revenue for various business lines for the company;
- Researching best modeling practices and implementing into the financial models;
- Analyzing and researching customer acquisition techniques and marketing channels in the digital/online space;
- Making suggestions around innovative revenue growth opportunities.
How did you land your internship?
I applied for the internship through the Whitman Career Center and submitted my resume. Thereafter, I had multiple interview rounds and landed the internship.
What did you learn from your internship experience?
I had taken a course on Financial Modeling with Professor Ravi Shukla in my second semester and found it very relevant to my field. I was very excited about the internship role with Rookie Road since it would enable me to practically apply my course knowledge and provide relevant exposure. Fortunately for me, the work I am doing at Rookie Road met my expectations. I can practice financial modeling.
Additionally, the work required me to thoroughly understand the business and how digital technology services work, which has been a new learning experience for me. The role, in summary, enabled me to apply the financial modeling knowledge I gained through my Whitman courses and customize it for the business.
Has your experience changed your plans or career choice when you leave college?
The internship experience has not changed my career plans but affirmed the career choice more strongly in my mind. I am excited about these roles that allow me to apply core finance knowledge to drive business decisions and impact the business which is what the role at Rookie Road required of me.
How will your internship experience help you after graduation?
The internship will add more credibility to my skill set and make me a good fit for finance and strategy roles that I am most excited about.
How has the Whitman School prepared you for your internship?
The Whitman Career Center provides students with all the help we need to excel in our careers. I have had my resume reviewed and attended the workshops organized by Whitman. Apart from that, the flexibility of taking courses according to your preferences is what attracted me to Whitman school the most. The courses I have taken over the past year have added more value to my skill set and helped me perform well in the internship.
What did you enjoy most about your experience?
One thing that I liked the most about my internship was that Mike Gursha ’10 (my supervisor) gave me a lot of freedom to explore new ideas and conduct research, which allowed me to understand the business better. He ensured I had enough direction by having regular touch base points to discuss my approach to the work enabling me to learn a lot during the course of my internship.
Do you have any advice to students who are looking for an internship?
Persistence and confidence are the two driving factors for finding a good internship. I kept looking for internships, but at the same time, I made sure I only applied to roles that excited me. This made sure I was confident in the interview.
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Nicely nartated internship experience by very confident upcoming financial expert AASTHA SANJAY BADLANI.
May she achieves whatever her dreams are,
WITH BEST WISHES….
Kajal Sunil Panjwani
Bhavnagar, Gujarat