Meet Team UPS

Q&A with Leah

What attracted you to UPS?

I saw UPS at a career fair and I was curious about the company because one of my friends interned there. So I looked it up and realized UPS is a fast-growing, customer-focused company that gives back to the community and protects the environment. When I applied, they reached out really fast and during the interview they were really friendly. It was my first corporate interview, but I was not nervous at all and everything went really smoothly. I am really happy to experience some real-world accounting and corporate culture at UPS.

At a high level, can you tell us about your internship role?

I am a state and local tax intern, so I help prepare a lot of work papers, returns, and estimates. I didn’t know a lot about tax before I came here but I have learned a lot during the internship. I’ve also worked on extension forms and income statement balance sheets from previous years for audit purposes. I’ve gained a lot of experiences—way more than I learn in school. It is really fascinating!

What has your internship/co-op given you the opportunity to learn so far?

As an intern, of course I learned a lot about my specific industry—accounting and tax—and I learned about corporate tax. I also learned that filing taxes for UPS involves many different entities. There are many different processes for tax filing, including estimates, returns, extensions, audits, and many other details. In addition to the work itself, I also learned about networking and business meetings. I’ve even been able to attend training sessions. All of this improves my communication and ability to work in a corporate world.

Share some tips for making the most of your UPS internship, such as networking with other interns and learning about the company's culture.

First, never be afraid of asking questions. On the first day everything was so new to me, but my supervisor was really friendly in teaching me everything and giving me trainings. They don’t expect you to know everything because you are still in school. Second, if you complete your work, ask for more to do and ways to help so that you can experience more and enhance your resume experience and your knowledge. Make the best of this opportunity! Also, be sure to network, reach out, eat lunch with your supervisor or with your coworkers. Pay attention in department meetings to learn a lot about your environment and what to say in a business setting.

What do you enjoy the most about UPS’s company culture?

I really love the office environment— they have lots of trees, flowers, and a big garden to enjoy on breaks. I also like how people here are really friendly. Everyone manages to be both friendly and professional at the same time, so we feel comfortable and are never afraid to ask questions. My supervisor is willing to work with my schedule and be flexible if I need it. This puts me at ease so I can focus on my work and not worry about anything else going on.

In what ways has your work felt meaningful thus far in your internship?

I play an important role, and even though I am an intern I am still doing a lot of the important preparations for tax. I feel good about making contributions towards something useful and positive. My work gives me valuable experience and also benefits all of UPS. I get to help a lot of my coworkers and supervisors, and I love how it feels to help a community through what I am doing.

What are your career goals? How do you feel your internship will positively impact your career goals?

My career goal is to be a CPA. It is a really big task. I may have to get a master's degree, but I want to work first to have hands-on industry experience before getting a master’s. UPS is my first internship, and it’s been really important for me and my career goals. I learn a lot everyday about the corporate world, taxes, and accounting work. This will help me a lot for future interviews, so they know I have some experience in accounting and taxes.

What separates UPS's internship program from the other internship opportunities you looked into?

I know of some other internship programs, but I will say that a UPS internship provides opportunities outside of work. There are a lot of meetings that I can attend that are about everything UPS—like resume workshops and networking events. Although it is just one summer, we have a lot more opportunities to reach out to different networks. It’s not just about what we can give to UPS, but also what UPS can give to us.