By: Kate Skidmore
Director of HR At Tate & Tryon we know that to be the best, you need to recruit the best. That’s why each fall we actively recruit exceptional intern and staff candidates from college campuses with prestigious accounting programs such as the College of William & Mary, University of Virginia, University of Maryland, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Lehigh University, and Pennsylvania State University.
We offer a challenging internship program which is designed to provide student interns with meaningful experiences in the public accounting profession. During this internship program, students work side-by-side with our professional staff, assisting the engagement teams for many of the firm’s audit clients. In addition, Tate & Tryon offers accounting student interns an opportunity to experience “real world accounting” through a special summer learning program developed in partnership with several small charitable organizations. During this 10-week program, student interns gain hands-on experience working in a nonprofit accounting office. The program has provided pro-bono services ranging from internal control documentation to audit preparation.
Tate & Tryon is proud of its internship program which represents a key part of the Firm’s efforts to attract, develop, and retain the best and brightest professional staff in the accounting field. In fact, many of our interns return as full-time hires after they graduate. This year’s team is: Claire Holtzmuller (College of William & Mary), Cara Walsh (University of Virginia), Timothy Tishman (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), Chase Livengood (Pennsylvania State University), Mike Mylan (University of Virginia), Addis Tadese (University of Maryland), and Jason Alcindor (University of Maryland).
The following are quotes from a few of Tate & Tryon’s former and current student interns. The stories below highlight the value of their experience with Tate & Tryon—from the butterflies at the beginning of the summer to the confidence they found at the end:
“After a long month off from school, I finally started my internship on Monday. I was a little nervous, but more excited to get going at Tate & Tryon. I am a rising senior at the University of Virginia and I learned about the internship at the school’s career fair. Since I’ve lived in the suburbs of New York my entire life, I was interested in getting a taste of what it would be like to work in Washington D.C. After visiting the office here and meeting the employees, Tate & Tryon seemed like a great place to intern.
“Although I was sure I would learn a lot, I did not know it would be this soon. After hearing stereotypical internship horror stories of photocopying and coffee retrieving, I was surprised and excited to see how quickly we got to do actual work. We went through a three day training program and are now working on audit planning. Erin, Leslie and Jamie did a great job showing us the ropes on “ePace,” the firm’s primary audit program. Even after the training, I seem to still have a new issue every few minutes, but everyone has been more than helpful answering my questions.”
Mike Mylan
Class of 2011
University of Virginia
“In the words of a famous T&T intern, “I’m an auditor ladies and gentlemen.” That is what I now think about my professional skills. Going on my last audit with Stephanie and Archie has given me the confidence that I can actually make sense of all the numbers that nonprofits give us. Being at T&T for 10 weeks has made me see it as a diamond in the rough. The staff is great and the management is helpful. Even though I am not the official spokesperson of the interns, I can wholeheartedly say that every one of us had a great time here and learned a lot.”
Tim Tishman
Class of 2011
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
“Wow. It’s hard to believe that it’s the end of the 5th week of my T&T internship. My fellow interns and I are halfway through the summer, and I feel like it’s gone by so fast! Since my last post, I have been doing a three week rotation at N Street Village, a non-profit that “provides services for homeless women including a day center, night shelter, wellness center, addiction recovery programs and community living.” It's a great organization with a strong mission and dedicated staff. Officially, I’ve been filling the role of “accounting intern,” but really, I’ve been having an insider’s look into the operations department of a non-profit organization. I know that when I hear about charitable non-profits, I mostly hear about their missions, purpose, who they help, etc. Seeing a non-profit from the operations side, however, has enlightened me to the business side of things. After all, non-profits still have to operate as a business, and achieving the most favorable efficiencies behind the scenes allows such organizations as N Street Village to pass on the best service it can to those who really need it.”
Cherrie Solaria
Class of 2010
College of William & Mary
“It seems like only yesterday but I started my internship with Tate & Tryon in January 2009…The greatest aspect of Tate & Tryon that I have learned to appreciate is the work atmosphere. There is no better feeling than knowing that your opinion matters, your work makes a difference, and that you are more than just an employee…There is no such thing as busy work, everything that you do at Tate & Tryon will have a reason, a purpose and will be making a difference. You will learn various types of software and tools to aid you in your work with clients. You will be trained in every aspect of the work that you will later on be responsible for. You will gain real world knowledge and the application of the accounting concepts that you learned in class. There is always something new to learn and as long as you are willing…”
Addis Tadese
University of Maryland
Class of 2011
