August 23, 2013
FOCUS
Article
Volume 4, Issue 33
Page
Outstanding Summer Interns Return to SBE
1
Article
A Message from Dr. Bailey
Outstanding Summer Interns Return to SBE
The outstanding quality of
students in the School of Business and
Economics (SBE) is certainly
evidenced by their success in
obtaining internships in the years
approaching graduation.
During the summer of 2013, four
of our students were invited to serve
as interns with Altria, General Electric,
Goldman Sachs, and Lincoln Financial
Group. These are some of the most
prestigious companies in the country
and offer the opportunity for future
post-graduation employment.
Antwon Freeman is a junior from
Newark, New Jersey who is pursuing a
double major in
Accounting and
Finance. During his
time at the School of
Business and
Economics, he has been
active in SBE projects,
student governance, as
Antwon Freeman well as making
contributions to the
betterment of our community.
At the SBE, Antwon has served as
the Managing Director of the RAMS
Asset Management Team (formerly
the Student Investment Fund). In this
capacity, he is charged with the
responsibility of developing strategies
to ensure the growth and viability of
the fund. He has performed analysis
on mid to large cap companies and
represented the fund, the SBE and
WSSU at the 2013 Rise Investment
Fund Convention at the University of
Dayton (Ohio) in association with the
United Nations Global Compact. In
addition, he serves as the Treasurer of
the National Association of Black
Accountants (NABA) and has been
inducted into the Beta Alpha Psi
Honor Society.
At WSSU, Antwon serves the
student community through his
participation as the Executive
Treasurer of the Student Government
Association and the Talented Tenth
Male Mentoring Brotherhood where
he serves as President. He also
volunteers in our community with the
Voluntary Income Tax Assistance
(VITA) program, preparing financial
statements and tax returns and
providing advice and guidance to
encourage better financial choices.
During his internship at Lincoln
Financial Group in Greensboro,
Antwon reports that he learned five
major things. Initially, he did not
expect to obtain a lot of hands-on
experience, but found that he was
being treated like an employee in
every respect with weekly
assignments and deadlines to meet.
There he was given the opportunity to
assist with the transition of the
balance sheet control confirmation
process by focusing on the
development and procedural
improvements to streamline overall
accuracy and efficiency. Secondly, he
learned to network in a corporate
environment. “When working in a
building with more than 1,000
employees from different
Continued on Page 2
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Article
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Where in the World/Upcoming Events
3
A Message from Dean Jessica Bailey
Classes for fall 2013 began last Monday.
What a joy to see the corridors filled with the
eager faces of graduate and undergraduate
students kicking off the new semester with
their best habits on display—
like punctual class attendance,
efficient time management,
business casual and business
professional dress. As this
edition of the FOCUS newsletter
demonstrates, the students of
the SBE are confident,
knowledgeable, competitive
Dr. Jessica Bailey
and making their marks in
some of the strongest organizations of the
nation.
This semester, we anticipate several
notable highlights in which all are invited to
participate. The Donald Julian Reaves Center
will officially open September 6, launching a
new era in WSSU’s history. For the first time,
the campus will have a facility dedicated
entirely to the growth and development of the
students and designed to house student
activities exclusively. The Entrepreneurship
Summit, to be attended by many SBE students,
will take place on September 24. Two Chompand-Chats are planned for fall semester, the
first scheduled for September 16.
Numerous presentations and site visits for
students have been planned through the
Professional Development Center. I will be
attending the SBAA (Southern Business
Administration Association) Annual Meeting
which will also mark the annual gathering of all
of the business school deans of the University of
North Carolina.
Each fall brings fresh, new challenges and
unanticipated rewards. We will keep you
informed in the FOCUS newsletter and hope
that you enjoy sharing the semester with us.
Jessica Bailey
FOCUS is published weekly by the School of Business and Economics at Winston-Salem State University. This and past issues of
the newsletter are available at wssu.edu/sbe/focus/default.aspx. For information concerning the newsletter, or to
contribute an article, please contact Ben Greene at (336) 750-2330 or send an e-mail to greenebp@wssu.edu.
Page 2
FOCUS News
Outstanding Summer Interns Return to SBE, Continued
departments with different
backgrounds, you must hone your
networking skills,” he said. Thirdly, he
was able to work on communication
skills on a daily basis. Sitting in on
weekly meetings and working on team
projects forces improvement. Fourth, he
emerged from the internship with
increased confidence in his ability to
complete a job and to do it well. Lastly,
but most importantly, was the
determination of his career path. Prior
to the internship, he knew he wanted to
be an accountant for a big four firm.
After, he found that he would much
prefer work with a small public
accounting firm before making a
transition into corporate accounting.
Antwon looks forward to implementing
everything he learned and growing from
this positive experience.
Andreya O’Brien, a native of
Gastonia, North Carolina and double
major in Accounting and MIS, served as
an intern for Altria Client Services in
Richmond, Virginia
during this past
summer. While there,
she worked as a
technology analyst in
the information
services department
on the finance
support team. Her
project was to
Andreya O’Brien
document Altria’s
current finance check printing process
and to recommend solutions that would
increase operational efficiency while
maintaining budgetary constraints.
While there, she also participated in fun
activities for the interns including an ice
cream making competition and a variety
of luncheons that provided an
opportunity to build teamwork and
networking skills.
a player on the WSSU Softball team that
won two CIAA Championships in 2011
and 2012. What you may not be aware
of is the end result of a lifetime
commitment to her workout routine
(beginning with tee ball at age three).
While interning at Altria, she utilized the
onsite gym almost every morning before
work. It was there that she met the CEO
of Altria, the President of AGDC, the
Altria sales division, and a number of
other directors within this multi-billion
dollar corporation. For Andreya, this
was definitely one of the most exciting
things about the summer which
included a job offer as a technology
analyst following her graduation in May.
During her time at WSSU, Andreya
served as Secretary of the Association of
Information Technology Professionals
(AITP), was an active member of the
National Association of Black
Accountants (NABA), and served as an
active member of both the Student
Advisory Council and Student Honors
Organization. She is an inductee of Beta
Gamma Sigma and Beta Alpha Psi.
Andreya has been on the Dean’s List
in each of her years at WSSU, was a
recipient of the Wendy’s Heisman
Award, and was the Outstanding
Defensive Player in 2009. She
volunteers for the Second Harvest Food
Bank and the Habitat for Humanity.
Mary-Nina Ukariwo traveled to
Salt Lake City, Utah to work at Goldman
Sachs as a summer Analyst in Equity
Derivatives. As a senior accounting
major, Mary-Nina serves as President of
the National Association of Black
Accountants, President of Beta Alpha
Psi, and as Vice President of Financial
and Administrative Services for
ENACTUS (Entrepreneurial in Action).
In the Spring of 2013, she was elected
President of Beta Alpha Psi, the honor
Many of her fellow students and SBE society for financial information
faculty are aware that Andreya has been students and professionals, and was
inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the
honor society for AACSB accredited schools
of business.
Prior to her
acceptance at WSSU, MaryNina completed a Bachelor
of Science degree in
Business Administration
from Claflin University,
graduating Suma cum
Laude. While there, she
Mary-Nina Ukariwo
was inducted into the
Alpha Kappa Mu and Delta
Mu Delta Honors Societies. She was born in
Nigeria in West Africa and grew up in Benin
where she gained a fluency in French. In
reality, she speaks three languages
(English, French and Igbo, a language
spoken in Nigeria). She also ran track in
high school and enjoys singing. She jokingly
describes herself as “the best singer in the
world.”
Mary-Nina particularly wants her
fellow students to understand the
incredible opportunity a summer
internship offers and encourages everyone
to consider the submission of an
application for one. In speaking of the
opportunity, she stated, “I was in Utah, a
place where I knew no one and had never
been. You learn to be independent and
learn more about yourself. You have to
network and become friends with people
from all walks of life both at work and
outside work and develop genuine
relationships.
I went camping, hiking, tubing and got
to see the Mormon Tabernacle, all for the
first time. I got to attend festival upon
festival like the rib-fest (had so many ribs!)
and the reggae fest which was more like a
reggae rock feast (lol) but for me, I was
basically ripped from my comfort zone so
you can either choose to have an open mind
and enjoy your summer or not and have a
horrible summer. I had a blast and, safe to
say, I would recommend the location and
company to anyone and everyone.
The internship itself tested your
Continued on Page 3
FOCUS News
Page 3
Outstanding Summer Interns Return to SBE, Continued
dedication as you are waking up
pretty early. I didn't have a car so I
woke up an hour before my
roommates at about 4:30 or 5 a.m.
just to get to work at 6:30 but the
upside was me being able to get off
work at 4pm or 5pm and in Utah the
sun is still high up in the sky and it
gives you a better work/life balance.
Needless to say, I started out shaky,
but once i got the rhythm down,
waking up that early became normal.
My team this summer was everything,
they are one of the reasons I said yes
to the full-time offer. Everyone said I
was lucky to get placed on the team I
was on. I worked with the Equity
Derivatives team. They were willing
to help; I had a chance to talk to
Global Heads, VPs, and Managing
Directors. I heard the CEO address
our intern class and witnessed
changes in the firm that helped me
better understand the organization.
Beta Gamma Sigma. At the SBE,
Crystal serves as the President of the
National Black MBA Association and
is the reporting chair for the National
Association of Black Accountants. She
is a weekly volunteer for the Youth
Educational Enhancement Program at
Mt. Zion Baptist Church where she
tutors students from Pre-K through
12th grade in math and reading. She
also volunteers for the Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance program
where she prepares income taxes for
qualified individuals in our
community. As an interesting side
note, Crystal played the flute from the
6th grade until her senior year in high
school.
As a Business Finance Intern
at General Electric (GE), Crystal
worked with the Enterprise
Standards Global Accounting
Processes (ESGAP) team to enhance
and update their current web portal,
develop a communication plan to
drive communication from the portal,
and to assist team members in the
mapping of accounts and the
simplification of fixed asset
requirements for country workbooks.
I had two mentors and a buddy who
would always check up on me and I
could not be more thankful for that.
The experience, the projects, the
friends I made, my willingness to be
open to my new environment and just
Crystal feels that the internship
my determination to have an amazing
enabled
her to enhance her
summer was all I needed for a
communication,
presentation, excel
successful and educational
and
technical
skills
and offered an
experience.”
opportunity to participate in
Crystal T. White is a senior
roundtable meetings with Chief
accounting major from Louisburg, a
Financial Officers and leaders in
town of about 3,400 people in the
Financial Planning and Analysis. She
center of Franklin
reports that this was a great
County in eastern North experience and hopes to be selected
Carolina. She has
for one of the finance leadership
excellent credentials
programs at GE following the
including participation completion of her studies.
at WSSU as a
The School of Business and
Chancellor’s Scholar, as
Economics
offers its congratulations
a member of the Dean’s
Crystal White
to
its
summer
interns and encourages
list in each of her six
other students to consider application
semesters at the school, as a
to these and other summer internship
participant in the Honors Program
opportunities in the future.
and as an April 2013 inductee into

Shaundria Lynch, (‘13) Teller Banking
Representative, PNC Bank, Roanoke
Rapids, NC
Attention SBE Graduates:
We welcome the opportunity to provide
information about all of our students
and alumni in the Focus Newsletter’s
“Where in the World” section. This
allows alumni, students and faculty to be
aware of the location and corporate
affiliation of friends and colleagues.
Please send updates, including your
name, title, company name, year of
graduation and current city, and state/
country to greenebp@wssu.edu.