Lehigh University Athletics
Internship Spotlight: Julia Nelson
10/13/2020 10:32:00 AM | Women's Rowing, Features
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
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Julia Nelson's summer internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers wasn't typical because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it still led to tremendous growth.
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It also led to a full-time offer, and acceptance.
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"In accounting, they actually start hiring and recruiting when you're a sophomore," said Nelson. "I interviewed for my junior-year internship and after getting the internship, you get invited to leadership programs for after your sophomore year. Following the internship, they give you the full-time offer."
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What's pretty unique about PwC and Nelson's position was that she had a coveted full-time offer before the internship even started.
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"That took a lot of the stress off trying to impress everyone," said Nelson. "I could really just focus on learning about the company and seeing if it was the right fit for me."
Â
Roles were reversed. Instead of the intern trying to impress the company, in Nelson's case, PwC had to sell her.
Â
They certainly did.
Â
"I accepted the offer the day after the internship ended," said Nelson.
Â
This came after Nelson's shortened two-week virtual experience (from the normal 10 weeks due to the ongoing pandemic).
Â
"I was a tax intern," said Nelson. "We had daily meetings to learn more about the company. We focused on learning as much as we could, and getting to know as many people as we could. They tried to make it as close to the actual internship as they could, given the circumstances."
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Nelson is double majoring in accounting and business information systems, so working at PwC ties perfectly into her career goals.
Â
"The goal of the internship was to give us the most information about the company as possible, talk to the most people and get a sense of what it would feel like working at the firm," said Nelson. "We had a set team, so every morning, we had discussions. Those were the people we could usually go to with any questions. There was usually a partner, senior manager and associate in the discussion – a bunch of different levels – so you could ask different questions.
Â
"I also had (what they called) an associate buddy, who let me sit in on some client calls," she continued. "It was a lot about learning their values and day-to-day workflow. We talked a lot about diversity and inclusion, and a lot about what the company is doing to help their employees with the pandemic."
Â
Nelson had takeaways ranging from her specific business interests, to general takeaways that will help in any aspect of life.
Â
"A lot of the things I was learning during the internship were extensions of what I was learning in my business information systems classes and applying it to the accounting major," said Nelson. "The two were blended together.
Â
"I also learned a lot of hard skills, like the software," she continued. "Beyond that, I really like [PwC's] value of 'be well work well'. It's helped me balance my academics and athletics. During the meetings, there would be a break to give yourself a mental rest. They would also lead some mindfulness.
Â
"Even if you have a really busy day, give yourself a little bit of time to check in on yourself."
Â
As a coxswain on the rowing team, Nelson's inherit leadership role is literally focused on everyone else. Â It's not always easy to shift focus to herself, but PwC has helped Nelson do just that, which will only lead to further (individual and team) success in her future.
Â
"I will be starting at PwC as a tax associate," she said. "First-year associates do a lot of compliance and looking at tax returns, applying different software and automations, and trying to make things more efficient.
Â
"I got to talk to so many different people during my internship that I learned a lot about the company.
Â
"I'm excited."
Â
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Julia Nelson's summer internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers wasn't typical because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it still led to tremendous growth.
Â
It also led to a full-time offer, and acceptance.
Â
"In accounting, they actually start hiring and recruiting when you're a sophomore," said Nelson. "I interviewed for my junior-year internship and after getting the internship, you get invited to leadership programs for after your sophomore year. Following the internship, they give you the full-time offer."
Â
What's pretty unique about PwC and Nelson's position was that she had a coveted full-time offer before the internship even started.
Â
"That took a lot of the stress off trying to impress everyone," said Nelson. "I could really just focus on learning about the company and seeing if it was the right fit for me."
Â
Roles were reversed. Instead of the intern trying to impress the company, in Nelson's case, PwC had to sell her.
Â
They certainly did.
Â
"I accepted the offer the day after the internship ended," said Nelson.
Â
This came after Nelson's shortened two-week virtual experience (from the normal 10 weeks due to the ongoing pandemic).
Â
"I was a tax intern," said Nelson. "We had daily meetings to learn more about the company. We focused on learning as much as we could, and getting to know as many people as we could. They tried to make it as close to the actual internship as they could, given the circumstances."
Â
Nelson is double majoring in accounting and business information systems, so working at PwC ties perfectly into her career goals.
Â
"The goal of the internship was to give us the most information about the company as possible, talk to the most people and get a sense of what it would feel like working at the firm," said Nelson. "We had a set team, so every morning, we had discussions. Those were the people we could usually go to with any questions. There was usually a partner, senior manager and associate in the discussion – a bunch of different levels – so you could ask different questions.
Â
"I also had (what they called) an associate buddy, who let me sit in on some client calls," she continued. "It was a lot about learning their values and day-to-day workflow. We talked a lot about diversity and inclusion, and a lot about what the company is doing to help their employees with the pandemic."
Â
Nelson had takeaways ranging from her specific business interests, to general takeaways that will help in any aspect of life.
Â
"A lot of the things I was learning during the internship were extensions of what I was learning in my business information systems classes and applying it to the accounting major," said Nelson. "The two were blended together.
Â
"I also learned a lot of hard skills, like the software," she continued. "Beyond that, I really like [PwC's] value of 'be well work well'. It's helped me balance my academics and athletics. During the meetings, there would be a break to give yourself a mental rest. They would also lead some mindfulness.
Â
"Even if you have a really busy day, give yourself a little bit of time to check in on yourself."
Â
As a coxswain on the rowing team, Nelson's inherit leadership role is literally focused on everyone else. Â It's not always easy to shift focus to herself, but PwC has helped Nelson do just that, which will only lead to further (individual and team) success in her future.
Â
"I will be starting at PwC as a tax associate," she said. "First-year associates do a lot of compliance and looking at tax returns, applying different software and automations, and trying to make things more efficient.
Â
"I got to talk to so many different people during my internship that I learned a lot about the company.
Â
"I'm excited."
Â
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