The Business Career Connections (BCC) Center at the CU Denver Business School is hard at work year round putting students in situations to succeed. Peter Howell, a Finance and Risk Management major officially became a senior last week, is one such student.
Peter chose CU Denver because of the atmosphere and the professionalism at the school overall. “It is a great place to get a degree and gain some very valuable real-world business experience and insight. The culture at CU Denver is very focused and professional. I am very self-driven and self-motivated and CU Denver is the perfect school for that characteristic. The city atmosphere is very inspiring and it means that we are a lot closer to potential employers in the Denver Area. Overall, my experience at CU Denver has been amazing across the board, from relationships with professors to the autonomy of the students here at the school,” he said.
Howell chose Finance and Risk Management as his major to learn more about it. “With finance, anything is possible and there are so many avenues one can take in regards to their career. I decided to add the Risk Management emphasis as well because insurance goes hand in hand with finance. The skills learned in both greatly correlate to those in the other. The insurance industry is booming and there are tons of employment opportunities. I wanted to set myself apart by taking on another degree and diversifying my education. The more skills I graduate with, the better.
Peter will be starting an internship with TIAA in June that runs through August.
“It was not easy to get. I was worried during my first semester of junior year but I knew if I kept working I would find one. I went to as many career events as I could fit into my schedule. I even went to events that weren’t sponsored by the business school but served as great networking opportunities. It’s all about networking and making a great personal and physical impression.”
“First, I went to Stephanie Egan to get my resume tuned up, then gave it out to employers at career fairs. It is very important to have a good resume, but that is just a minimum requirement. The key is to meet real people and talk to them and show them that you are a good person and they can trust you and work with you. At the end of the day, an employer will hire the person he or she likes and respects the most. Not just the person with the highest GPA. I worked very hard to keep my GPA high but also went to events and did some real networking.”
“CU Denver has helped me, through Stephanie Egan, Sue Wyman and other staff members from Business Career Connections, land a great internship with a company I respect a lot. They originally told me they had no more openings but I insisted to them how interested I was and that I wanted to leave a resume just in case. Sure enough, with a bit of luck, an opening came up and they emailed me and asked to re-apply. The thing they liked most about me in the interview was my enthusiasm. That was the key. They knew I had a lot of drive,” Howell said of the entire experience.
The BCC at CU Denver helps countless students like Peter find internships and jobs that fit them best. For more information about Business Career Connections, contact bcc@ucdenver.edu.
