Summer intern Cliff M. (a student at Bentley) shares how he has prepared for the upcoming school year during this unprecedented time. A cloud of the unknown hangs over, but he - like many - is putting his best foot forward.

With the summer having been turned upside-down from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people’s plans, including mine, have been greatly disrupted as a result. As a rising sophomore at Bentley University, I made it a priority to stay on top of my education and extend my network through internships and other career opportunities throughout the summer as a way to broaden my horizons and develop skills I will be continuing to hone going forward.

I took an internship at a Mainsail Capital Management, a local wealth management firm in my town. My role for the summer was to create, market, and facilitate a junior investment group that enables kids to gain a basic understanding of the investment and financial world. This served as a great tool for students in order to establish a foundational knowledge and appreciation for the value of investing. We launched the project on July 1st with about 60 participants and I think the students have gotten a lot of valuable experience so far (the program will end in December). 

With that, I have taken two summer courses through The University of Vermont summer program. These six-week courses have allowed me to get a general understanding of micro and macro economics in order to further my education at Bentley and prepare my for the next level of courses going forward.

Throughout the summer I have also been in constant communication with my university with regards to their plans for the fall semester. Although everything is constantly changing in this “new normal” we find ourselves in, it was very helpful to stay up to date with what they are looking to do so I can determine how I want my education to look for the upcoming semester and going forward. I talked to my professors to figure out what they were looking to do, I got in touch with my point-person from residential services in order to understand what campus life would look like upon returning to campus, and I also made sure I was in communication with my suitemates all to gain information allowing me to make a much more informed decision then what I previously could  have done.

All in all, I was incredibly lucky to be able to have a productive summer despite the current things going on in the world. My prep for the upcoming schoolyear has been unorthodox but very helpful during these trying times we all find ourselves in.