Success story: It’s a PwC internship for Andrew Montelongo
Accounting Success Stories | May 09, 2013 | Nicole Gesualdo
When it came to the internship search, Andrew Montelongo (GSB ’16) found the best resource he could ask for on the third floor of Hughes Hall.
It was the Gabelli School’s Personal and Professional Development Center, where he made the acquaintance of Tara Naughton, the center’s accounting advisor. With her guidance, he prepared for his internship interviews with dedication and resolve. In the end, everything worked in his favor.
This summer, Andrew will be an internal firm service intern at Big Four accounting firm PwC.
“Tara gave me so much of her time, and I feel extremely blessed to have such incredible resources and support at GSB,” he said. “I am excited to gain exposure to the culture at a public-accounting giant.”
As an internal firm service intern, Andrew will help PwC with non-client-facing work, such as ethics and compliance. If he performs well, he could be considered for a future internship in a PwC division that works directly with clients: assurance, advisory or tax.
Andrew will be one of four Gabelli School of Business interns in the department; the other three are current juniors. “Having four interns from Fordham says a lot about Fordham’s representation at PwC,” Andrew said. “Knowing that there are three other Rams doing the same internship as me makes me feel less stressed about the workload to come,” he added, “because I know I’ll have people whom I can turn to when I need help.”
It’s clear that Andrew understands how much progress can be made when Fordham people collaborate. It was the freshman class dean, Greer Jason-DiBartolo, who first recommended that he seek out Tara Naughton for her expertise in landing accounting internships. From there, doors opened.
Ms. Naughton, who worked for KPMG before coming to Fordham, gave Andrew an overview of the types of questions he might encounter in a Big Four interview. She helped him polish his answers and his delivery. The results came out in the proving ground of the interview room.
“I didn’t find any of the questions particularly difficult, and I think that just speaks to how well Tara helped me prepare,” Andrew said. “Also, I felt very comfortable and confident going into the interviews because I had spoken with various Fordham alumni from the firm who gave me great candid insight as to what PwC is like from the inside.”
To his peers who also want internships, Andrew recommends a visit to the Personal and Professional Development Center. “The inclination of students in the internship/job search process is to go directly to Career Services,” he said. “I think students find out about the PPDC too late, or last minute. I was just fortunate enough that Dean Jason pointed me in the right direction.”
Congratulations, Andrew, and we hope you have a great summer at PwC.
