My Summer at Goldman Sachs: Lydia

04 JUN 2018

Lydia joined Goldman Sachs for a 10-week Summer Analyst Internship in the Compliance Division during the summer of 2017. She shares some insights below.

BIO:

  • Studying at Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations
  • Majoring in Industrial & Labor Relations; Pre-law
  • Internship: Compliance Division
     

ABOUT HER INTERNSHIP:

  • Second summer internship with Goldman Sachs
  • Supported the Global Compliance Training team in covering compliance-related learning and development for the firm
     

MOST SURPRISING PART OF THE SUMMER INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE:
“I truly wasn’t expecting so many people to remember me one year after my first internship, and that says a lot about the people and culture within Compliance. I felt like I was coming back to something, opposed to starting fresh at the firm."

PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT OVER THE SUMMER:
“I helped coordinate the Independence and Effective Challenge series for the Compliance Division, which is a training program emphasizing empowerment and independence for every single compliance officer from analysts to managing directors. Even as interns, we contribute to important projects like this one and it was exciting to see its impact in real-time."

SKILLS BRINGING BACK TO SCHOOL:
“Teamwork, attention to detail, and time management are incredibly important, but this summer, I learned the difference between organization and execution. On campus, you can finesse your time management to ensure that everything gets done, but at the firm, you have to keep the details organized and manage to continuously present a strong final product in a timely manner. I hope to continue fine-tuning and building these skills back on campus.”

WORKING WITH OTHER INTERNS:
“We had a Compliance project that involved twenty-six interns with different backgrounds and perspectives in New York and Salt Lake City. We were evaluating the compliance risk of financial technology, such as blockchain. The team would have meetings through video conferences—you actually get used to the global nature of the firm. Even though part of the team was in Salt Lake we still became really close and felt the comradery as if they were right next to us.”