Photo by: Matt Smith
Internship Spotlight: Matt Douglas
9/2/2020 2:26:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse, Features
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic creating obstacles, a number of Lehigh men's lacrosse student-athletes completed worthwhile internships over the summer. We begin by spotlighting senior Matt Douglas.
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
Last September, Matt Douglas secured an internship with Management Planning Inc. (MPI), a valuation firm in Princeton, New Jersey which works closely with private companies. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic created challenges, Douglas was able to work remotely.
"My official title was valuation summer analyst," he said. "I helped out the analysts – the people in their first few years working in the industry."
Among several tasks, Douglas conducted research.
"We figured out the best ways to present a company's financial information that could bring in the most value, and show to potential investors how much the business is worth," he said. "I did a lot of industry research and sat in on a lot of calls with the firm's partners, who had calls with clients where they would gather materials to use in their valuations."
Beyond technical details learned as a finance professional, Douglas learned a number of intangible life skills as well. One of the biggest challenges was effectively communicating virtually.
"The back-and-forth communication was difficult virtually, but I got used to it after a couple weeks," said Douglas. "Ninety percent of the people I was working with, I never met in-person. But through email, chat services, video services and call services, my communication skills definitely got a lot better as the summer progressed."
One person from the company Douglas had met was former Lehigh teammate Matt Rimol '19.
"I saw Matt last summer (2019) and mentioned I was looking for an internship opportunity and trying to explore my options," said Douglas. "He said he was really looking forward to helping Lehigh Lacrosse guys secure jobs where they'd be a good fit. I sent him my resume and he forwarded it to the correct people."
Douglas went on to receive an interview, and offer.
"I had my summer plans pretty early, which was nice," he said. "It took a little bit of weight off my shoulders."
A year after securing the opportunity, Douglas' internship has opened his eyes to possibilities.
"I still don't know exactly what I want to do post-graduation, but this gave me really good insight into my options," he said. "If it weren't for this experience, I wouldn't know anything about valuation. I now know it's something I want to continue exploring."
In the mean time, Douglas saw impressive growth over the summer, setting him up for success in whatever career path he chooses. Along with enhanced communication skills, Douglas admitted the summer helped shine light on something else.
"I tried to be coachable in that if I made a mistake, that same mistake wouldn't happen again," he said. "They expected us to make mistakes and they expected us to ask questions.
"Attention to detail was another lesson I learned," Douglas continued. "It's really fascinating how much these people put into their work and how much time they spend on small monotonous details, so they can put the best product out for their client."
Focusing on communication, attention to detail and being coachable will help Douglas in the professional world, and with his Lehigh Lacrosse teammates. He truly values the Lehigh Lacrosse family and understands it transcends the playing field.
"The fact that Lehigh Athletics is a smaller community, relative to some other bigger schools, really helps," said Douglas. "You get to know a lot of people across the department on a personal basis. Rimol was super willing to help out."
Douglas couldn't be more grateful.
"The internship was meaningful and relevant work," he said. "I was able to apply things I had learned in my time at Lehigh. And I believe I'm a leg up on my classmates after having some really great experience going into my senior year of upper-level classes."
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
Internship Spotlight: Senior Matt Douglas
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) September 2, 2020
Matt discusses his summer internship with Management Planning Inc. ⬇️
Read more about his experience: https://t.co/oPvq2jsicb pic.twitter.com/RtapApn6Uy
Last September, Matt Douglas secured an internship with Management Planning Inc. (MPI), a valuation firm in Princeton, New Jersey which works closely with private companies. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic created challenges, Douglas was able to work remotely.
"My official title was valuation summer analyst," he said. "I helped out the analysts – the people in their first few years working in the industry."
Among several tasks, Douglas conducted research.
"We figured out the best ways to present a company's financial information that could bring in the most value, and show to potential investors how much the business is worth," he said. "I did a lot of industry research and sat in on a lot of calls with the firm's partners, who had calls with clients where they would gather materials to use in their valuations."
Beyond technical details learned as a finance professional, Douglas learned a number of intangible life skills as well. One of the biggest challenges was effectively communicating virtually.
"The back-and-forth communication was difficult virtually, but I got used to it after a couple weeks," said Douglas. "Ninety percent of the people I was working with, I never met in-person. But through email, chat services, video services and call services, my communication skills definitely got a lot better as the summer progressed."
One person from the company Douglas had met was former Lehigh teammate Matt Rimol '19.
"I saw Matt last summer (2019) and mentioned I was looking for an internship opportunity and trying to explore my options," said Douglas. "He said he was really looking forward to helping Lehigh Lacrosse guys secure jobs where they'd be a good fit. I sent him my resume and he forwarded it to the correct people."
Douglas went on to receive an interview, and offer.
"I had my summer plans pretty early, which was nice," he said. "It took a little bit of weight off my shoulders."
A year after securing the opportunity, Douglas' internship has opened his eyes to possibilities.
"I still don't know exactly what I want to do post-graduation, but this gave me really good insight into my options," he said. "If it weren't for this experience, I wouldn't know anything about valuation. I now know it's something I want to continue exploring."
In the mean time, Douglas saw impressive growth over the summer, setting him up for success in whatever career path he chooses. Along with enhanced communication skills, Douglas admitted the summer helped shine light on something else.
"I tried to be coachable in that if I made a mistake, that same mistake wouldn't happen again," he said. "They expected us to make mistakes and they expected us to ask questions.
"Attention to detail was another lesson I learned," Douglas continued. "It's really fascinating how much these people put into their work and how much time they spend on small monotonous details, so they can put the best product out for their client."
Focusing on communication, attention to detail and being coachable will help Douglas in the professional world, and with his Lehigh Lacrosse teammates. He truly values the Lehigh Lacrosse family and understands it transcends the playing field.
"The fact that Lehigh Athletics is a smaller community, relative to some other bigger schools, really helps," said Douglas. "You get to know a lot of people across the department on a personal basis. Rimol was super willing to help out."
Douglas couldn't be more grateful.
"The internship was meaningful and relevant work," he said. "I was able to apply things I had learned in my time at Lehigh. And I believe I'm a leg up on my classmates after having some really great experience going into my senior year of upper-level classes."
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