Student Perspectives: Networking, Learning, and Growing

MS Finance ‘25 alum, Sharyu Koli, shared with the GCMC key takeaways she learned from her internship.

I was extremely nervous on the first day of my internship. Like most new interns, I was worried about asking dumb questions, getting judged by people and making mistakes. But looking back, I find that these very questions turned out to be some of my most valuable lessons. 
 
A lot of people ask me, “What is your biggest lesson from the internship?” And I always say, “Ask questions, no matter how silly they may seem.” If you do not ask questions, you will not understand the reasoning behind a certain action. I think curiosity isn’t a weakness; it is a way to grow. Embracing this mindset helped me learn faster, build confidence, and feel more connected to my team. It’s a lesson I’ll carry into every role moving forward. This shift in perspective also shaped how I approached networking, which was a whole new challenge for me. As an introvert, I can say I have spent my entire life avoiding networking opportunities. However, I knew I wanted to grow in my career, and I knew that stepping out of my comfort zone was a necessity. Also, I asked my manager to give me a front desk in the office, so that I would have to greet people on a daily basis. This helped me to get out of my comfort zone. What started as small “hellos” turned into real conversations. I began learning from others—about their career journeys, mistakes they made, and even simple tricks on how to break the ice and make people feel comfortable. Taking that small step to engage daily helped me build genuine connections. 

 
Those connections also gave me the confidence to take on bigger responsibilities, like the contributions I made to my team. My most significant contribution to the team has been taking ownership of all calculations related to our team's reports. When I first started, these calculations were performed in a tedious manner and were split among several senior analysts, which significantly delayed the entire reporting procedure. After getting used to the process, my manager entrusted me to handle the calculations single-handedly. This helped the senior analysts to concentrate on data analysis and report finalization. 
 
Understanding that my efforts helped the team's swift delivery of reports, in addition to my manager trusting me with such an important responsibility, was rewarding. It made me realize that even the smallest job becomes highly rewarding if performed with care and commitment. 
 
The internship helped me to explore new areas, especially financial modeling and reporting. I realized telling a story through numbers is captivating; finance has fascinating practical implications and shapes diverse realms. This motivates me to expand my focus on outlining building scaffolds for advanced tools. My first goal is to achieve an advanced level in those domains. 
 
The experience has also motivated me to handle my own personal objectives. It has made me appreciate my ability to manage numerous responsibilities if I challenge myself gently, such as balancing self-care and work. 
 
I am still fascinated by how numbers tell a story and guide real-world outcomes. Moving forward, I want to dive deeper into building financial models and learn how to create tools that not only crunch data but also predict trends and support strategic choices. This internship has made me aware of the impact I can make, and I am excited for the next steps I want to take, which will allow me to improve and contribute even more.  

While I reflect on my experiences, let me, however, share a few insights for those looking to land an internship. The first and most important thing I would say is to start as early as possible. Starting applications from your first semester is great but if not, it is better to start late than never. And the second key for landing an internship is consistency. Be consistent in doing applications while also completing small courses or virtual internships, which will help you to make your basic terms and methods stronger. Keep going, because as entrepreneur Marie Forleo says, “Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently.”