The Working Classroom

For Nadia Dodenova '08, internships provide both work and self-knowledge

October 9, 2007

Nadia Dodenova '08 keeps up with international finance news at the Stern Center for Global Education.

When international business & management major Nadia Dodenova '08 got an internship last summer with a brokerage firm in Philadelphia, she knew she would be taking her classroom learning out into the business world.

Dodenova applied through the college's Career Center and DickinsonConnect for an internship in the equity research department at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, an investment-banking and financial-services firm that serves institutional investors as well as private clients, and worked directly with Heike Doerr '00, an analyst at the firm.

This was not Dodenova's first internship. During the spring '07 semester she did an internship at Merrill Lynch in connection with college-sponsored coursework at The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars in Washington, D.C.

"When I came to Janney, I had reasonable expectations. I knew I was an intern and was prepared to do a variety of tasks," says Dodenova.

Learning by doing

As a student from Bulgaria who began learning English in the sixth grade and came to study at an American college, Dodenova does not shy away from hard work and taking on challenges. At Janney, she was an integral part of the firm's equity research team and gained firsthand appreciation for the considerable work required to research, write and publish the reports on which many industries rely to make substantial investments.

"A lot of work goes into these reports before they can be published. You work directly with the principals of the reports: the analysts, research associates and editors, and you draft, review and proof the documents as well as create charts and other visual materials," she points out.

What Dodenova experienced during her internship, however, went beyond staying on top of the latest economic news or mastering financial models; she also learned workplace skills, professionalism and, most importantly, a lot about herself.

"Internships are great. They help you find out what you really like to do, not just what you think a field or job is like," she says.

Dodenova, who plans to work for a few years in the private sector before, perhaps, going to law school in the United States or getting an M.B.A., urges other Dickinson students to take full advantage of the internship opportunities that the college provides.

"There are so many opportunities to pursue, and students should not wait for a 'dream job.' An important part of the internship experience itself is to find out if a certain industry or career really fits your personality and aspirations."