A Student's Perspective on the Benefits of Interning with an Entrepreneur

My name is Cathy Wang. I am a junior in the University of Pennsylvania, concentrating in Finance in the Wharton School and majoring in Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences. I am currently a fall intern in SH International, working with the Principal, Sara Haq. My time here has been truly rewarding and meaningful.

In response to her blog post from last week on the benefits of hiring interns as an entrepreneur, I would like to share some of my insights from the perspective of the intern.I chose to do a Fall Internship to:

• Practice what I learned in school. Since one of my degrees is in business, I have taken courses in marketing, finance, and management, etc. I figured that the best way to integrate and digest what I learned in school is to practice my knowledge through an internship.
• Learn in a real world setting. There are so many things in the real business that you cannot learn by sitting through lectures and seminars in college. I would like to immerse myself in a real business to understand what business looks like from that angle.
• Change my lifestyle one day a week. UPenn is an excellent and exciting school to be in. Yet sometimes school life can get stressful as well. It is quite difficult to study to 2 or 3 AM for exams and projects. I am also a music director for an a cappella group called Penn Enchord. I would like to leave campus every week for a day, do something different and interesting, and return to my university with a refreshed mind.
  

Why SH International?

• Focus on emerging markets. As an international student from China, I am naturally drawn to opportunities related to emerging markets, and attracted by SH International's open mindset on international business.
• Collegial and entrepreneurial environment of start­ups. As an intern, I can take on more responsibility. I really appreciate that I work in a place where my ideas and efforts make a difference. There is also a constant excitement to see the firm grow and succeed.
• Sara was nice when interviewing me. On the interview day, Sara, Principal of the firm, was nice and warm. Her personality definitely played a part when I made my choice for taking the offer.
  

What did I gain from interning with SH International?

• Mentoring. Working directly with the Principal of the firm is a huge learning experience. Sara is open to share her ideas, business plans, and her goals for the firm. She also gives great support to my daily work, guiding me through and providing constructive feedback. She also gives helpful advice beyond my daily tasks, including where I should work after graduation.
• Learning to think critically. Since my work contributes to client deliverables, I need to be careful and think from multiple perspectives when I work on projects. It has been challenging and quite a learning experience for me.
• Hands on experience with entrepreneurship. Working in SH International gives me the opportunity to understand the excitement and challenges simultaneously experienced by the firm. I have been able to gain insight into the necessity for entrepreneurs to build up resilience to work with good faith through difficult times, and to share in the excitement of major business breakthroughs.
• Fun! Working in SH International has been a lot of fun. I especially enjoy when we receive product samples from prospective client companies and discuss intensely about how the products would be received in different markets.
  
  

Note from Sara: Thank you, Cathy, for all the kind words that you have to say about SH International, your internship experience, and me. The experience that you describe reflects your positive attitude, intelligence and willingness to learn. It is an honor to have you interning with us. It would be great if in several years you start a business, or are a corporate executive with another company, which will enable you to collaborate with us in key markets like Hong Kong and China.