2011 Internship/Co-op Student of the Month Winners
FEBRUARY Student of the Month:
Danielle Brouillette, communications major
The February 2011 recipient, Danielle Brouillette, completed a volunteer coordinator internship with DeKalb County American Red Cross in DeKalb, Illinois. This was Danielle’s second internship with the organization. In describing her internship experience, Danielle said, “Having had a successful first internship with the American Red Cross, my supervisor invited me back for a second internship to take on the role of volunteer coordinator. My emphasis was working with the community members and various groups around the NIU campus to find volunteers for events and maintain the relationship between them and the Chapter. I planned and organized such events as the NIU men’s basketball game Red Cross Day, March Canister Campaign and the DeKalb County American Red Cross annual meeting. In every aspect of my time at the Red Cross, I was able to reflect on my studies and understand how to address a situation. A perk of working at a small office is that I am able to work side by side with my superiors and be exposed to new opportunities to learn. Before my internship at the Red Cross, I was not sure what area of event planning that I wanted to emphasize. The various events that I have planned and participated in have given me a sense of accomplishment that is highly rewarding. These personal rewards convinced me that I want to stay in the nonprofit field of event planning. My two internships with the American Red Cross have provided me with professional experience in a global organization. This experience has given me a peek into the working world, so that I know what is expected upon graduation.”
Rona Hardt, Media Relations/Development Coordinator, DeKalb County American Red Cross, speaks highly of Danielle, saying, “There are many things I’ve learned about Danielle. First and foremost, she has a great attitude and is always willing to go above and beyond whatever is needed. She is very reliable and responsible. Danielle has a good head on her shoulders and grew leaps and bounds. The experience she gained here, I believe, helped her to be more assertive and more comfortable in the professional realm.”
Betty La France, Ph.D., NIU Department of Communication, wrote about Danielle and stated, “Danielle made regular contributions in class, and these contributions demonstrated that she was able to apply concepts learned in class to her own experiences. To Danielle’s credit, she has worked consistently while in school, and she earned the Department of Communication’s O’Connell Service Award. This award recognizes Danielle’s exemplary work ethic in the application of academic material to important out-of-classroom activities.”
March Student of the Month:
Shilen Patel, accountancy major
The March 2011 recipient, Shilen Patel, who interned with BDO USA, LLP as an audit intern. In describing his experience, Shilen wrote, “My internship with BDO, the nation’s seventh largest public accounting firm, was the perfect fit for me. I worked as part of a team to complete various auditing procedures on a client. Although I was an intern, I was treated like a first year hire. I was placed with four different clients over the 12 weeks. I had to quickly learn how to manage my time in order for the audit to be completed efficiently. Even though I was part of the audit team, once I was given my areas to audit, I had to work independently. My greatest learning experience came when I was put on the audit team of one of BDO’s biggest and most complex clients. The audit lasted six weeks with eight members on the team. A key skill I needed to learn in this audit was communication. I had to be able to clearly explain information I had obtained to other members of my team in order to help them complete their areas of work. Also, I had to be confident in front of the client since without its respect I was not going to be able to obtain the information I needed in time to meet my deadlines. On the final day of my internship, I was given the unique opportunity to help a client that was filing to become a publicly traded company. Throughout the whole internship, I believe the areas where I improved most were my communication, time management, professionalism, and team work skills. One can see how the concepts learned in the classroom come together in the ‘real world’; this is why I believe the Accountancy Department emphasizes the importance of an internship throughout its program. This opportunity has really brought together all the things I have learned throughout my academic career.”
Joe Calabria, Assurance Manager, BDO USA, LLP, praises Shilen’s internship with the following words, “From the start of his internship, Shilen worked diligently to understand how the client operated, the strengths and weaknesses of the company, and the client’s business concerns. His strong technical and communication skills allowed him to effectively and efficiently audit the complex revenue, debt, cash, and capital transactions of the client. In addition, Shilen worked independently from his manager and helped out other team members with their work when required. This allowed the BDO audit team and the client to meet their tight audit deadlines.”
Sarah J. Marsh, Associate Professor and Department Chair, NIU Department of Management, commented on Shilen’s academic work. “Shilen was a student in my course, MGM 468, Strategic Management, where he performed at a high level. Shilen is a strong student and contributed greatly to the course. He was always very engaged, and he would often highlight current events that related to the discussion topics in the course. He is smart and worked hard to perform well on case analysis and other assignments. He also applied his knowledge in a serious manner in the simulation project. He was a leader on his team, and he worked hard to make sure his team finished at the top of the class.”