SBI student is “Queen of Internships’

 

Sydney Erin Clark has orange and green in her blood. This third-generation Rattler has never once doubted that Florida A&M University was her home. At a very young age she was attending homecoming and being surrounded by FAMU’s culture. It was no surprise that FAMU would be Clark’s top choice.

MBA candidate Dominique Parks says “Sydney has taken SBI by storm since the day she stepped on campus freshman year. She was one of the few people in her class to secure an internship her freshman year and has not slowed down yet. She has one of the strongest work ethics I’ve ever seen and the young people in SBI look up to her. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead and look forward to seeing her inducted into the SBI Hall of Fame in the future.”

So far, Clark has had the opportunity of interning each summer she has attended FAMU. Her freshman year for General Electric Lighting in Cleveland where she did commercial finance working under the commercial finance team. The following summer she interned at J.P Morgan Chase in New York where she had the opportunity to work for the Asset and Wealth Management Division doing private wealth management. For this upcoming summer she is excited to be spending her time at Goldman Sachs where she will be interning in the investment management division with Market Solutions Group.

“Internships are really good preparation to see what you like, and you don’t like in terms of a career,” Clark said. Although all her internships have been dealing with finance, she has worked in different sectors to better prepare herself for when she enters her full-time job.

Her internships have also taught her the importance of working with others from various backgrounds. “One thing I learned is you have to learn how to work with different people that have different personality traits, different backgrounds and be able to respect that,” Clark said.

A piece of advice Clark has for students who are in the process of securing an internship is “Be persistent. Even if you do not get the internship you want, still continue to look. There are thousands of internships but remember, nothing is going to be handed to you. It is up to you to go out and get them.”

Former School of Business and Administration graduate Kierra Hardaway says Clark is a “strong and diligent young lady who is all about setting the standards high within SBI. Sydney has conquered all odds and acquired extremely influential and highly motivating internships with Fortune 500 companies. As she continues to matriculate through school she rises above by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Additionally, Clark is a member of SGA, SISTUHS, Inc. and a recent initiate into the Beta Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.

Clark is looking forward to potentially working for Goldman Sachs upon her graduation in Spring 2019.