Tom Davis, a senior from Bentonville, Ark., majoring in accounting with a minor in finance, says he may never have gotten a chance to intern with Ernst and Young if he hadn’t participated in the Walton Honors Program.
As an audit and assurance services intern last summer with Ernst and Young in Rogers, Tom worked to ensure the accuracy of financial data by using various sets of controls. Tom hopes he can apply the real world experience he got at the firm to his accounting and other classes at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. “That way, I’ll better understand how classroom theory works in the real world,” Tom says.
“The Honors Program and being a founding member of the Walton Honors Student Executive Board set me apart from the other applicants for the intern position,” Tom says. He also is involved in Beta Alpha Psi, an honorary organization for high-achieving students in the financial information field. He says being a member of Beta Alpha Psi also was key in getting the Ernst and Young internship.
His experience demonstrates that students should start as early as their freshman year if they hope to get a good position as an intern, Tom says. “When students apply for internships as freshmen, they make a lasting impression on employers and that impression and experience will benefit them in the future,” he says.
