WELCOME TO FALL!

As summer officially comes to an end, we are sharing the stories of two internships that ended up connecting members of our Phillips Scholarship community with current scholars. One of the hallmarks of Phillips Scholars is a strong work ethic, and engaging in part-time work while in college can be a meaningful way to explore career paths and see classroom lessons come to life. Our Phillips Scholar community is a great resource for learning more about a diverse array of careers, and we encourage current scholars and alumni alike to network with each other in our private LinkedIn group.

You will also find more stories about Phillips Scholars and Alumni on our newly-redesigned website!

Danny Baer & Jenfry Guerrero Cuevas 

Floyd Advisory, LLC 

 

When Phillips Scholarship alum Danny Baer reached out to our office to ask about advertising upcoming paid internships with his financial services firm, we were delighted to share the opportunity with current students studying finance, accounting, and business. All it took was a targeted email using information from our database, and the message went out to dozens of rising seniors. One of those rising seniors was Jenfry Guerrero Cuevas, a finance student at Suffolk University. Jenfry successfully navigated the application process and was offered an internship in the Boston office. Read on for the highlights of this experience, from Jenfry’s and Danny’s perspectives.  

Jenfry

Internship responsibilities: “Throughout my internship, I had the opportunity to work closely with multiple managers on a wide range of projects. As an Intern Associate, my role involved providing support and conducting analyses across various fields, such as financial analysis, business valuation, market research, and competitive analysis. This experience was great in enhancing my skills in using Excel, as my tasks involved working on complex financial models and preparing financial statements.” 

Phillips Scholar connection: “I found it particularly beneficial that a former Phillips Scholar was involved in the process; it undoubtedly facilitated the entire procedure. Also, our shared experience played a significant role in fostering our friendship. During the summer, Danny and I made it a habit to have lunch together whenever possible.” 

Key take-aways:  

• “I gained insights into how teams collaborate and how individuals with similar mindsets unite to tackle challenges. Despite the complexity of some of the problems we encountered, Floyd's dedicated team consistently came together to find solutions.” 
• “One rewarding aspect of the internship was the valuable connections I managed to establish.”  
• "I have gained a clearer understanding of my own interests, which has positively influenced my future goals.”  
• “This experience reaffirmed my genuine enthusiasm for the realms of finance and accounting, and I eagerly anticipate pursuing a career in this field.” 

Danny

Phillips Scholar connection: “As a smaller firm with limited bandwidth, our recruiting efforts are relatively focused on a handful of schools. Being able to tap into the Stephen Phillips pipeline gives us access to attractive candidates who have proven themselves to be well rounded and interesting people, but who may or may not have been exposed to our firm in normal course. Stephen Phillips scholars are humble, eager to learn, and great team players, and that is a fantastic combination!” 



Sharing Lessons Learned: “Being able to share my experience, insight, and knowledge with current Phillips Scholars is a very gratifying and an excellent opportunity for me to give back to the program and community that helped me succeed through college. I think back to when I was in college, and the general feeling that comes up is how little I knew of the potential career paths in my profession. Being an accounting and finance major, I initially traveled a very traditional path (Big 4 Audit). It wasn’t until I progressed in my career that I became aware of various niches within the industry that I have found extremely rewarding and fulfilling.” 

Recruiting Advice for Phillips Alums: “Reach out to the team at the scholarship! They were super helpful in getting the word out to our target audience and we are excited to continue this channel of recruitment as part of our multi-pronged approach. This is a way to add value to the scholarship itself, create community between scholars and alumni, provide excellent career and learning opportunities for the scholars, and since the candidates are strong, it’s a big win for your company as well.” 

Kara Johnson & Emy Diaz  

MassHousing  



When Emy Diaz visited the Phillips Scholarship office last year, she mentioned her internship at MassHousing. As luck would have it, Emy was working directly with a Phillips Scholarship reader and former staff member, Kara Johnson! Having worked in our office and continued throughout the years as a seasonal application reader, Kara is deeply familiar with the strengths of our scholars and their potential to make meaningful contributions at work and in their communities. Read on for their thoughts on working together.