When you ask college students where they spent their summers, you expect to get the usual answers. Florida. San Padre Island. Maybe even California or Hawaii.
But if you ask Erin Chewning where she spent her time off, you might be surprised at what you hear: Columbus, Ohio.
Erin, junior finance major at Southern Arkansas University, worked at Budros, Ruhlin, and Roe – a wealth management firm in Columbus – and took advantage of the opportunity.
“It was a great experience,” said Erin. “I really enjoyed my time working there. It’s a very personal company. I could tell that they cared about us [the interns] a lot.”
Erin, who is from Ashdown and a 2016 graduate of Foreman High School, was one of only two students outside the state of Ohio chosen for an internship with the company.
“They said I had a real passion for the work, so they gave me a shot,” said Erin, who learned of the position through a certified financial planner website.
The company gave Erin a variety of tasks to do as part of her internship, with no two days being exactly the same.
“It varied every day. The most interesting part was when I got to sit in on client meetings.”
To help offset the expenses of the internship, Erin’s housing was paid for by a new scholarship funded by the Rankin College Business Advisory Council.
Erin is the daughter of Robert Chewning of Ashdown and Joanna Keeney of Ashdown. She hopes to begin her career with an entry-level financial planner position, and hopes to one day work as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. She also hopes to earn her MBA at some point in her career.
At SAU, Erin is a member of the business groups PBL and Enactus, and she is a member of the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority.
Erin is thankful for the chance to take part in the internship because it gave her a chance to see that her career path is taking her in the right direction.
“Now I have experience in what I want to do,” said Erin. “It’s something I enjoy, and I know it’s the right career for me.”
