Banking on the Future

Wes Heffernan '18, Wells Fargo

Major:

International business & management

Internship title:

Summer financial analyst.

How I got this internship:

I got this internship by networking with Dickinson alumni, faculty, staff and parents.

What I do, day to day:

On a daily basis, I analyze financial reports for a plethora of financial institutions, identifying and highlighting credit risk, focusing mostly on asset quality, earnings, performance, liquidity and capital adequacy.

Other internships:

I have had quite a few internships. The summers after my freshman and sophomore years, I worked for a private wealth management firm as a portfolio analyst intern. I spent this last semester in New York City, where I interned as a private equity analyst. As a rising senior, this program is geared towards a full-time rotational program spanning three years, and hopefully I will receive that opportunity once I finish my current role. I am currently based in Charlotte, North Carolina; however, the Global Financial Institutions Group has hundreds of offices across the globe. Hopefully, I will be in Charlotte, New York or San Francisco if I receive the offer.

Most valuable part of this experience:

The most valuable part of the internship process so far has been the intrinsic rewards I have gained in my work. I have mostly worked with financial institutions that benefit specific regions or countries. This is extremely enriching because I am able to directly play a part in the improvement of these programs. I am finding myself truly in the international business space applying many of the skills I developed with courses I took at Dickinson.

How this internship has helped me:

I think the internship has prepared me for my final year at Dickinson in two ways. First, it has made me appreciate the value of time and exploring my interests, and, second, the internship has forced me to become extremely patient and detail-oriented. As one of my managers always used to say, "In college, if you get a 90 percent on a test you are ecstatic, but here, anything less than 100 percent can cost you your job."

Post-Dickinson plans:

My plans are still being developed, because life never goes as planned. I hope to receive an offer at Wells Fargo and hopefully make my way into the Financial Analyst Program inside of the Financial Institutions Group. Then, I hope to pursue this path and eventually exit into the private equity space. A dream of mine also would be to pair my passions for finance and soccer and become a financial executive for the MLS.

Learn more

• Department of International Business & Management
• Internship News
• Interns in Action
• Career Center
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Published August 2, 2017