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When Kathleen Fox ’06 accepted a position with SEI, a leading global provider of outsourced asset management, investment processing, and investment operations solutions in Oaks, Pa., she didn’t quite know what her role would be.
“You say ‘yes’ to the company, not the position,” she explains. “They knew I liked working with clients, so they tailored a position in that arena. It was a company I felt like I clicked with.”
SEI knew so much about her interests because she served an internship in its associate’s program the summer before her senior year. She found the opportunity posted on the Office of Career Services’ Job Vault. Angela Guarino ’04, an asset manager at SEI, posted the internship and was the main contact.
Although Fox didn’t work directly with Guarino, the two met periodically to discuss how the internship was going. Fox credits her mentor with helping her become more involved in the associate’s program and inspiring her to reach out later to current Lafayette students through on-campus career fairs and information sessions.
Fox also found that the connections she made during her internship were helpful when it came time to interview for a full-time position. She considers networking the most important benefit of her internship.
“They were very supportive in letting me collaborate with other departments,” she says. “They were open and willing to meet with me, even as an intern, so. I recognized a lot of faces during the job interview process.”
Guarino has since left SEI to pursue graduate studies, but she remained with the company during Fox’s first year.
“When I first started, I knew at least one person I had a connection with,” says Fox, an internal account executive in the SEI Advisor Network. “If I had a question about corporate culture, I could go to her. There’s a group of Lafayette alumni now – once you’re there you start meeting more people – and it’s always nice to have that little network.”
Fox has roughly 150 clients, most of whom are individual client advisers from small firms. She is charged with supporting the clients in the southeast U.S., preparing analyses and proposals and answering questions about SEI products. The services she provides help her clients grow their businesses, an incredibly satisfying aspect of her work.
“The most rewarding thing is knowing that I’m making a difference in an adviser’s practice, whether it’s helping them win a case or offering information on SEI, and working with different personalities,” Fox says.
An economics & business and psychology graduate, Fox believes her Lafayette experience helped her transition to the corporate world. She continues to find similarities between her current environment and undergraduate years.
“The best thing about Lafayette was the work ethic and being able to take ownership of projects,” she says. “You have the opportunity to step up and take initiative, and it’s a similar structure here. You drive your career. In both atmospheres, you have to be self-motivated. Also, Lafayette offered a supportive atmosphere. The professors didn’t just talk about what you were learning that day – they showed you how it applied to the real world.”
Alumni are needed to provide one- to three-month internship experiences at their workplaces this summer. The position can be part-time or full-time, paid or unpaid, but it is expected to be a structured and supervised work or service experience. The position is posted to the Office of Career Services’ online Job Vault and students apply directly to the alum or designee.
Even if you cannot personally host an intern, you can still be a resource for students interested in interning at your organization. Provide the Office of Career Services with information about available internship programs and how students can apply. Consider allowing students to contact you directly with questions about the realities of working at your organization. For more information about the Alumni-Sponsored Internship Program, contact Rachel Nelson Moeller ’88, moellerr@lafayette.edu.