July 29th is National Intern Day! We couldn’t pass up a chance to highlight Jenna, an awesome Purdue Federal intern. Read our interview with her below:
Q: Tell us a little about yourself.
Jenna: I am a junior at Purdue University studying Financial Counseling and Planning. I am a member of Sigma Delta Tau sorority at Purdue. I am hoping to work in a financial institution or insurance company, trying to become a credit analyst or some kind of underwriter.
I am from Seymour, IN, and I previously worked as a seasonal teller for two years at Jackson County Bank. I have always been in love with finances even as a kid, convincing my mom at 5 years old that I was going to be an accountant one day. I am happy I kept up this passion and got an internship position here at Purdue Federal Credit Union to help further my career path.
Q: What is your position here at Purdue Federal?
Jenna: I am the Personal Financial Management Intern in the Loss Mitigation department. I work closely with the Purdue Federal financial counselors and help with merit accounts. I give merit [counseling] sessions to members and track activity on the merit accounts to prevent loss. I present financial literacy educational seminars to kids and come up with games to go along with the lessons. I also help the Loss Mitigation team conduct address searches for the return mail.
Q: What do you enjoy most about this internship?
Jenna: I LOVE working with children and teaching them about financial wellness. It makes me take a different perspective on finance and simplify it into the basics that kids can understand. I feel that all the kids I have worked with at places like the Hanna Center learn so much. You could tell the children were challenged by the material that I helped present and the games we played with them, but they liked the challenge and still had a lot of fun.
This [simplifying financial concepts] has been super helpful in not being so technical and confusing when I am talking with adults about finances. I feel that it helps the members understand me better.
Q: What is the most surprising or valuable thing you’ve learned at this internship?
Jenna: Surprisingly, the most valuable thing I have learned is to be confident in myself and my work. Before this job, I felt that managers would only talk to me when I did something wrong, and it caused me to have a lot of anxiety. When I got an offer for this job, I feared that I wasn’t going to meet their expectations for my position and that I shouldn’t have gotten this job over the other candidates.
Everyone I have worked with has accepted me and encouraged me that I am doing a good job in my work. I feel like I fit in really well with my team members, and they are basically like a second family to me. When they do give constructive criticism, it never brings me down and instead encourages me to improve. Having better confidence at work makes me a happier person in my life and less stressed. I am confident and ready for the workforce, and I know this will forever shine through to whatever path I take in the future.