Moving Forward

Isaiah Boswell

Isaiah Boswell '15's longtime interest in the banking system grows wings during a summer internship with FDIC

Major:

International Business & Management

Activities/Organizations:  

I supervise an assortment of recreational activities sponsored by the Office of Intramural Sports & Recreation. I also assist the Office of Alumni & Parent Engagement in managing Phonathon, a program used to connect current students with parents and alumni to help raise money for Dickinson’s Annual Fund.

 

How I ended up with my FDIC internship:

I’ve always been interested in banking, and while studying in Washington, D.C., during the spring of 2014, I had the opportunity to tour the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) small museum exhibit in the agency’s headquarters. I found the exhibit to be extremely informative and was instantly intrigued, and I took it upon myself to further my understanding of the regulatory agencies that monitor our financial institutions.

 

My research led me to a summer internship opportunity through the Pathways Program, a highly competitive employment gateway supported by President Obama for students and recent graduates to obtain entry-level positions in the federal government. I worked tirelessly on my application, and for my recommendation I called upon [Associate Professor of International Business & Management] Steve Erfle, who wrote a remarkable recommendation on my behalf. After a series of background checks, a formal sit-down meeting with a licensed private investigator and a conference-style interview with three FDIC representatives, I was offered a spot in the FDIC’s prestigious Financial Management Scholars Program for the summer of 2014.

 

What the internship is like on a day-to-day basis:

This summer I worked with a team of senior financial-institution specialists examining FDIC-insured banks in the northern Boston area. During these bank exams, I reconciled financial statements to ensure their validity, analyzed the banks’ most current earnings and budget performances to investigate any questionable trends and engaged in conversation with senior bank executives about their banks’ future endeavors.

 

My previous internship experience:

I had the pleasure of interning in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Strategic Employee Organization & Development (OSEOD) last spring. While there, I spent time analyzing evaluation data from employees who had previously taken courses offered by OSEOD for a departmentwide return on investment project. I also conducted market analyses that involved researching locations across the United States to determine the best possible sites to offer supervisory development courses as a means of generating future revenue.

 

The most valuable part of this internship experience:

Aside from familiarizing myself with concepts that I had no prior knowledge of, the most valuable part of this experience was being treated and compensated like a full-time employee. Often, student interns are assigned busywork or tasks that do not help the agency move forward. Throughout my experience, my workload mirrored the workload of the examiners on my team, and there was always work that needed to be done. I truly benefited from being subjected to such a worthy hands-on experience.

 

Advice I'd offer to peers considering an internship:

Reach for the stars: Don’t let the “qualifications” section of internship postings deter you from applying. And reject complacency: Becoming satisfied after an achievement can be detrimental to success. If you continue to remain hungry, your determination will speak for itself.

 

How this internship has prepared me for life beyond the limestone walls:

After successfully completing FDIC’s rigorous Financial Management Scholars Program, I was extended a full-time offer to become a commissioned financial institution specialist. I have accepted this offer and, as a result, will be moving to Maryland following graduation this May.

 

My plans for post-Dickinson life:

I will be enrolled in FDIC’s Corporate Employee Program following graduation. The program is a three- to four-year entry-level training program that grants its employees the opportunity to explore a multitude of interagency disciplines, formal in-class training, as well as field experience. This experience will prepare me for the FDIC’s commissioning exam, and successfully completing this exam will make me a commissioned/licensed financial institution specialist.

 

Upon becoming a commissioned examiner, I would like to take full advantage of Dickinson’s partnership with the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business and obtain my MBA.

Learn more

 

Published September 9, 2014