Internship Spotlight: Multiple Majors into One Career

Tell me about your internship! What are your responsibilities? What projects are you working on over the summer?

After the financial collapse of 2008, several pieces of legislation were passed to protect the banks. One of them was designed to have the federal government help regulate financial institutions across the U.S. by specifically looking at portfolio composition and the risk of assets. The federal government provides insight into what would happen to these institutions in an adverse economic event. This could be increasing unemployment, increasing interest rates, war, or a global pandemic. The Federal Reserve has several different teams that contribute to this process. These teams collect information from individual financial institutions, develop stress test models, and then present the results to Congress and the general public. The Federal Reserve presented these results on June 26th, 2025, and are available for anyone to examine online. 

The Federal Reserve Bank must do this so the institutions can handle losses of their assets. It is also good for everyday people like us, so we also know if something were to happen, like another pandemic or something that has a very big economic effect on the company, whatever institution they are with will not close. They can stay calm knowing that their bank can function under these stressful conditions.

What is the most important thing you have learned thus far?

I think one of the biggest things that I noticed is that it's really important to be able to work well with others and to communicate with others. The work that I do requires teams of people, some of these people are in Minneapolis, but most of them are not. Not being able to sit down and meet with people face to face means that you need to put a lot of effort into communicating through email by being clear and concise. Working well with others is important; everyone that I have met has been extremely supportive of each other. They create an environment where people can speak up and people can feel like they are heard.

How did your school work prepare you for this role?

The BICB program requires us to take classes that are not within our major. If you come in as a computer scientist, statistician, or biologist, you'll have that specific skill set. They require you to take classes outside of whatever major you came from. I feel like this kind of exposure allows you to see how people in different areas of study think. My experience in classes has helped shape my perspective on the importance of listening to others and being open-minded.

How did you become interested in computer science and your specific areas of interest?

I was a triple major in computer science, economics, and financial management. I first became interested in computer science while taking classes in Economics. I took an Introduction to Data Analysis class and found that I really enjoyed the programming aspect. While searching for internships, I found one at the Federal Reserve that required strong programming experience. I felt that my undergraduate studies in economics combined with the programming and statistical skills that I have acquired through graduate school would provide me with a good foundation for this position. The internship at the Federal Reserve was a unique opportunity for me to see how my skills translate to the work environment.

What are your future career goals? How has this position impacted your goals?

I am not 100% sure what I will do post-graduation because a lot of the positions I was interested in two years ago aren't there and new positions are always being posted. I can't say for certain, I think this experience has made me realize my skill set is very transferable. Having a strong computational statistical background allows me to go into other fields like economics and finance that I wouldn't have originally thought about considering.

What advice would you give to someone pursuing a similar internship in the future?

For this internship, we had coding exams to make sure that we were qualified to do the work. When it comes to pursuing internships, I recommend that people spend a lot of time on the process. I had a spreadsheet that contained all the relevant information that I might need for any internship that I was interested in. I applied to over 50 internships and ended up having 5 interviews and picked the Federal Reserve. I recommend that people apply to as many internships as possible because each position is very competitive. Lastly, I think it’s important to do some research into that company to understand what current employees say about the work environment and how they feel they are treated.