Saint Mary’s senior Gabe Potyk spent his summer interning at one of the Big 4 accounting firms, PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) in Detroit.
From the 31st floor, he gained real-world experience in management consulting, obtained invaluable advice — and received a job offer nine months before graduation.
Potyk said his summer involved a variety of experiences including working on SAP S/4HANA implementation. He also worked on a case study competition with other interns, and helped set up an accounting career day for high school students.
At the end of the internship, Potyk was offered a job in management consulting in finance transformation. Potyk said that out of 100,000 applicants, only 3,000 received job offers.
“It feels really good to be hired at such a prestigious firm,” he said. “When I come in next year, I’ll be back at square one as an associate. I have a long road ahead of me to grow and adapt as a business professional. But it’s exciting. Now I can focus on school and hockey and enjoy my senior year, and that’s a blessing.”
The double major in finance and business intelligence and data analytics is also getting a graduate certificate in accounting.
He said the upperclassmen on his hockey team have been his biggest role models in that they taught him how important it is to be a good student, as well as a good athlete, and to be involved with campus life.
“This is a smaller school, but my résumé stands out because of the opportunities I’ve been able to be part of,” he said. “I was an RA, was involved in Student Senate, have interned at Fastenal, play hockey, volunteer at church, lead Bible study, and double majored, all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.”