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Internship Journal

An Opportunity to Grow

When Jezzika Lee Perez began her summer accounting internship at Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI), she already knew that she'd carry away much more than improved skills in crunching numbers.

Perez, who's in the fourth year of a five-year accounting program at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, already had one paid internship under her belt when she began her three-month stint—also paid—in the accounts payable department at the firm's Houston offices.

"A lot of times you have to take personal initiative to seek out projects," Perez says, explaining that she learned that lesson in 1997, when she wrote a two-page essay on her career goals as part of her application for an internship with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C.

Perez says she was elated when she was chosen for the post in the EPA's Office of Planning, Analysis, and Accountability over students nationwide. And after she finished her work that summer, she knew she could survive and thrive among professionals far away from her home state.

"I knew I could go into any business and know how to deal with people," Perez says, adding that the BFI internship in Houston, several hours away from her school and her hometown, reinforced that notion.

Perez says that at BFI, one of the nation's largest waste-management firms, she was responsible for finding mistakes in the district office's accounts payable system in preparation for a merger. Her efforts yielded nearly $100,000 in unpaid bills and mislaid funds.

David Laird, controller at BFI's Houston offices and Perez' supervisor, says he hadn't worked with an intern before and was very pleased with Perez' performance.

"It was, for us, a very pleasant experience," he says.

Perez says that Laird and others at the firm helped her grow both professionally and personally.

"I was able to work with people who really took me under their wings and showed me how things are done," she says.

Perez adds that her experiences finding housing for both internships, living on her own, and socializing in new settings gave her more opportunity to grow.

"Moving from place to place gives you a chance to mature as a person," she says. "When you're doing things on your own, it helps not only your professional self, but yourself as a whole."

Perez, who hopes to go to law school after she finishes her bachelor's degree, advises students considering internships to trust their abilities and interests.

"Be confident and be yourself," she says. "Don't limit your ability to become involved in new projects."

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