Name: Victor

Year: Junior

Major(s): Economics

Minor(s): International Studies, Business Institutions Program

CFS Concentration: Business Field Studies

My name is Victor, I am a junior currently interning at Nielsen Perishable Groups. While this isn’t the first internship I’ve had, it has certainly been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in the workplace and at Northwestern as a whole.

First and foremost, the people I have met at CFS have been some of the smartest and nicest people I know. Every day I go to work I get the chance to learn something new from them. From learning how to make a simple pivot table on my first day, to analyzing complex data to help clients develop seasonal strategies to maximize returns, everything I have done is not only interesting, but extremely applicable to my future career goals. A lot of that is because the people around me not only know how to help me, but want to help me. This also does not just stop at the workplace as many of the people involved in CFS, like the program administrators and professors, also are willing to help with any problem you face.

Secondly, the curriculum has actually helped open my eyes to a lot of the dynamics we are experiencing in the workplace, and many of the topics we cover in class I can see applied to the real world. Through the curriculum I have learned about how diversity, gender, race, innovation, and other areas make up our work culture and it has helped me navigate the workplace. The discussions we have in class are actually engaging, and the professor does a good job of providing context and feedback. I never would have thought that I could find the topic of gender in the workplace interesting enough to discuss for three straight hours, but that’s just one of the ways CFS has opened my eyes.

Even though I’m still not used to waking up at 7AM every morning, I enjoy going into the firm because I know I will learn something new, meet new people and forge new connections every day. I strongly recommend everyone apply for CFS.