Training Time - Chicago

Alex Bullington
Assurance Associate
Baltimore, Maryland

During the week of January 5-9, I attended McGladrey’s SYACAM (Starting Your Assurance Career At McGladrey) Level 1 training in Chicago with over 650 other assurance associates and interns. The expectation was to attend classes, learn as much as I could, and meet some new people. While I did accomplish these things, I also felt more established with the McGladrey family. Having only worked with professionals out of the Baltimore office, I hadn’t the opportunity to really understand the culture of the entire firm. Based on previous experiences with the Baltimore team, I knew that everyone was very helpful and dedicated to working as a team. The McGladrey brand is completely different from that of other accounting firms that I have experienced.

McGladrey prides itself on its culture, and the people I met in Chicago did not disappoint. From San Diego to Iowa City, Dallas to Minneapolis, everyone encompassed this brand. Personable, team-oriented, and hardworking, not only were the people I met a joy to be around, but I was also able to learn from their experiences with the firm, something that just attending a class perhaps couldn’t teach. 

Everything took place at the Q Center, a massive training complex with rooms, dining areas, and social settings. Each day involved getting together with your group, roughly 30 people, and working through the training manual in a classroom setting. With two experienced instructors, we never missed a beat. Albeit at times the information was overwhelming, the idea was to learn as much you could, process the key takeaways, and build relationships with your peers. Through group activities each day and social activities at night, the opportunities to network were enormous and we all took advantage of this aspect. The Q Center provided fantastic meals, lodging, and other accommodations, making the entire experience in Chicago well worthwhile. On the last night, we took the advantage of our downtime to head into Chicago, grab dinner, and experience the downtown area. This made for a great way to end what became a very beneficial experience and I’m looking forward to my time there at future training events.