August 23, 2021
To kick off the summer, Advantage Capital was thrilled to welcome 15 interns to our offices across the country, working on a variety of projects, business lines and teams. As the summer came to a wrap, we caught up with members of the team to learn about their intern experience here.
Firmwide Collaboration
The St. Louis office has been home to eight interns this summer, all of whom had unique experiences. While most of the interns worked in different departments, they were also given opportunities to collaborate on cross-functional projects. When asked to describe Advantage Capital in one-word, legislative intern Hannah Jirousek said “teamwork,” adding “It has been exciting to work with teams across business lines to tackle challenges from different angles when monitoring deals and legislation.”
Lizzie Twardock, HR intern, said that her favorite part of the internship was the opportunity to work autonomously. “Being able to have autonomy over my projects and creating events and programs that benefit across the firm was great.”
In the New York office, Jason Rice, an investment team intern, described Advantage Capital as “collaborative” and talked about the unique way the firm operates: “It’s rare to be able to join a firm like this without prior banking experience, but Advantage Capital embraces the apprenticeship model. If you show curiosity and initiative, people here are willing to invest in you and loop you into a variety of projects across the firm.”
Collaboration runs strong at Advantage Capital. But we also know the value of support and guidance, which is why we pair interns with summer mentors.
An Opportunity for Mentorship
While interns are treated as full-time employees in many ways and have direct supervisors, they are also given a separate mentor, often from a different department. One of the benefits, says marketing intern Chloe Spain, is that this allows interns to form relationships with employees across teams and offices. For instance, Chloe’s mentor, Carly Jefferson, is a senior analyst from the Hanover, NH office.
“The second Zoom meeting I had with Carly, she connected me with two new full-time employees. She told me about the Women’s Affinity group they are forming at Advantage Capital to support women in the office in a male-dominated field,” said Chloe. “It was so nice to know she cared about introducing me to other strong women at the firm and making me feel comfortable and welcome here.”
Nick Sarni, an intern with the investment team, had a positive experience with his mentor, Matt Switzer, as well.
“Matt has been an amazing resource this summer to learn more about how Advantage Capital approaches different investments across industries, deal structure, underwriting, and the due diligence/compliance process,” said Nick.
More Than Just Work
Though our internships provide, a robust professional experience, we learned they also offered a lot more.
In July, the St. Louis office hosted an Intern Day of Service with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis. Employees and interns spent the day with children and teens, enjoying all sorts of games, educational opportunities, and creative outlets together.
Investment team intern Colin Doherty, who volunteered with elementary-age kids, said, “It was nice to get out of the office with co-workers and see the change we made in the young kids’ lives simply by spending time with them, whether it was shooting hoops or bowling.”
We are excited to hear more from our interns at the Intern Presentation Day where they will share what they have worked on and accomplished this summer. Even though we will be sad to see them go in August, we look forward to seeing all the amazing things our interns will do and we are looking forward to welcoming a new group next summer!
Want to learn more about Advantage Capital Summer Internship Program. Check out our brand-new student page here.
