I can’t believe this is my last post and that my internship is officially over! It really feels like yesterday that I was posting about how excited I was for the summer to start. I have learned so much in the past 10 weeks that it is hard to sum it up in one post, but here goes trying.

First I have to thank everyone at Source Media, particularly those at the Asset Securitization Report, for being so kind and patient in helping me understand not only professional writing but the financial world as well. Especially my boss Karen, I never would have gotten the hang of if without her! She’s a great boss and was always willing to answer questions and go over concepts whenever I needed.

I also have to thank the Holy Cross Leadership Council for their unbelievable generosity   in providing stipends to HC interns.  It would not have been possible without them, and all of my friends from other colleges are always so impressed that we have such a strong alumni network that ensures students get paid for their summer work, especially during tough economic times.

If I had to pick one thing from this summer that I will take with me back to HC (and into the real world soon, very scary), it would that I was able to learn about something so different than I usually do. (Economics and finance are not the same thing if you were wondering.)

Whenever I talk to a prospective student about HC and our economics or pre-professional programs, they always ask “How can you study business at a liberal arts school? They don’t have a business major.” My internship has provided me a different, but equally effective way of learning about it.

While I may not study asset-backed derivatives or collateralized debt obligations in the classroom, I know go back to school with a pretty good understanding of finance and securitized products.  I was able to take my one semester of Financial Markets course at HC and really build on it. I even impress myself when I read the Wall Street Journal on the train and understand the issues going on right now.

My internship has allowed me to learn firsthand by being a part of the business world, and that beats learning about it from a book in some classroom. So to answer that all too common question, yes you can go to Holy Cross and get a good background in finance!

In parting I will leave you with what I think is the most valuable lesson I’ve learned from working. I read this particular advice last year in one of the summer intern’s blogs and it stuck with me, so now I pass it along to you: always check your work and be thorough, but never too much so that you waste time.  In other words, always make sure that you are turning in your best work, but don’t obsess, be confident.

Now that my summer of work and play in NYC is over, I am going to make the most of my remaining vacation days.  I will be back on the hill before I know it to start senior year!  And I will be sure to bring everything I’ve learned back with me.