Great Speakers, Content, Food and Ball Game = A Great Start!

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to sit in on our New Intern Orientation in New York. This week I had the same opportunity at our office in Vienna, VA. Our new orientation program, while now generally standard across the country, still offers some unique features geared towards the needs of the local offices. This group of interns, a slightly smaller group than our New York group, will be working over the next 8 weeks in our offices in Maryland and Virginia, and represent universities such as the University of Maryland, Virginia Tech, Mount St. Mary's, Loyola University, Towson University, Salisbury University and Penn State.

Monday got off to a great start with the Eastern Region Assurance Line of Business Leader, Bill Gorman, who led the interns through an energetic introduction to the firm. Immediately following Bill's presentation, he was joined by local Tax and Consulting leaders for an enlightening Q&A session. After lunch, an introduction to our people programs by local Campus Recruiter Jen Poklemba (who had great knock-knock jokes) and an entertaining introduction to our brand our Client Promise by Business Development Director Ron Bertoia (who had great duck jokes), the Interns got their laptops and learned more about technology and compliance issues in the firm.

Monday evening closed with a dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants, Coastal Flats, located in Tysons Corner Center which is next door to the Vienna office (the Rock Shrimp and Blue Crab Fritters were fantastic!)

Tuesday morning started off with surprise for everyone. RSM McGladrey, Inc. President and COO, C.E. Andrews, who happens to work out of the Vienna office, came over and spent about 45 minutes speaking with the interns and taking their questions. The fact that C.E. took time out of his busy schedule for this (as well as with last year's and next week's Capstone Conference) makes his appreciation of and commitment to our internship program very clear. The interns took notice and truly appreciated the experience. The day continued with learning about our scheduling and time keeping procedures, and wrapped up with assurance and tax technical training. But the day wasn't over yet.

The interns and close to 20 other McGladrey staff, including several Partners met up at Nationals Park to take in the Nationals vs. Royals game. We started off with a hot dog/hamburger buffet in the picnic area, and migrated over to our seats at game time. The first few innings were fun, including a Josh 'The Hammer' Willingham home run that landed in our section, and cheers and chants from a traveling U-17 Rugby Club from England. The fun could of been spoiled by a passing torrential downpour, but this group reassembled and finished the evening playing Baggo at The Bullpen, a fun little place across the street from the ballpark.

Overall the two days were highly informative and fun. Not all of our interns get to hear from the President of the company on the 2nd day and get treated to a Major League Baseball game, but these interns certainly appreciated the experience and a ready now for a busy and enriching summer.

Next up for all of our interns is the Summer Intern Capstone Conference, which we will be covering for you next week with daily updates and pictures. In the meantime, check out the gallery below for some pictures from this week's intern orientation.

DC-Baltimore Summer Intern Orientation