Building Confidence and Leading at Scale Through Co-op Experience

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What is great about your co-op?

Co-op company: National Grid

I did the co-op both: Summer 2024 and Summer 2025

title: Colleague Communication and Engagement

My co-op gave me more confidence than I could have ever imagined. I had an amazing team that trusted me and my skills so they put me on a lot of big projects. I presented in front of a room of 250+ management employees including the CEO of the company when he was visiting from London. I got to project manage events for the CEO along with the VP’s of the company. Some of the time running the local events on my own. People would always come up to me and introduce themselves and then they realized I was an intern and they were extremely surprised. I never felt like “just an intern” at the company. You are really part of the team and organization, it was really good exposure. My favorite part was being able to interact and work with both the CEO and then also the field employees. The range of people I worked with really tested and developed my capabilities in business. Being able to apply my skill sets to completely different scenarios is a skill that I will take with me to any jo b in the future.

In what ways has Saunders/RIT prepared you for the job market?

Saunders gave me such an amazing foundation for my co-op and personal experiences. From my first semester on I was working with clients, classmates, professors, and industry professionals. It initially opened my eyes to being able to apply my business skillsets to different situations and industries.

I also was heavily involved in the Financial Management Association since my freshman year. It was always intimidating to me because I’m not in finance, but that is exactly why it was so beneficial. It taught me how to lead in an industry that I wasn’t used to. I am now the Vice President and I always had a different perspective than some of the other executive board members, as I was the only one not in finance. I got to bring all of my management and marketing skills into the mix and apply them to the finance industry.

During my time here at Saunders I have gotten to work heavily with the management, marketing and finance departments, giving me such a well rounded experience that I could have never imagined to go so well. I always thought that I would be tied down to one thing when picking a major in college. I was very wrong, I got to learn core business practices and strategies with my management degree and at the same time got to expand my knowledge in these other areas.

I also worked as a student worker for most of my time here with the Marketing department. I never could have imagined that a student worker role could have given me as much exposure as it did to the industry. I got to develop professionally while working and going to school all before I even had my first co-op. While in this role I also got the chance to know the faculty, staff, alumni and students more. Opening my eyes up to all of the different moving parts of business.

Why did you decide to attend Saunders College of Business at RIT?

What really made me interested was that Saunders was one of the smaller colleges within the university, so I knew I would be able to work with the staff, faculty and students closely. Then on the flip side with it being a part of a big university I knew I would be able to use all the resources of the large university while getting that smaller feel in class and clubs.

What do you feel is the most distinctive advantage gained from your Saunders experience?

The most distinctive advantage that I gained at Saunders was how well-rounded and adaptable it made me. I wasn’t just learning one area of business, I got to work across management, marketing, and finance, and actually apply those skills in real situations. Between classes, clubs, co-op and my student worker role, I was constantly being put in new environments that pushed me to grow. It really helped me build confidence in my abilities and showed me that I can walk into any situation, and have skills that will help me.