3/28/12
 |
Genworth's Community Relations Manager Christine Jaeger
and Matthew Musser '12 |
Externships are a great way for Randolph-Macon College students to gain experience and learn about the world of work.
Matthew Musser ’12 recently completed an externship at Genworth Financial in Richmond, Virginia. The externship was arranged through R-MC’s
Bassett Internship program.
* Under the guidance of Genworth’s Community Relations Manager Christine Jaeger, Musser completed a financial analysis project, researched benchmark data from other financial services companies, and drafted documents and presentations related to Genworth Community Relations efforts.
“Christine was a great supervisor and taught me about the insurance and corporate sector of business,” says Musser, an
economics/business major who hails from Mechanicsville, Virginia. “My externship also helped me develop teamwork skills and industry-specific abilities.”
Genworth Assistant Controller Daniel Healy, who has for the past seven years championed the company’s externship program with Randolph Macon, says R-MC student-externs are top-notch.
“All of the Randolph-Macon externs have been excellent and have really impressed their managers,” says Healy. Genworth has had about 30 R-MC externs in the past decade, four of whom who were offered full-time positions. The company recently began integrating their
R-MC January Term (
J-term) externs into their Summer Internship Program and full-time Finance Development Program.
“This paid internship program can lead to an offer to join our Financial Development Program (FDP), which is an intense, competitive two-year program in which new associates rotate into a new business at Genworth every six months all throughout the United States,” explains Healy. “The new associates also take classes designed specifically for them, and after the program and rotation they continue their careers at Genworth. Graduates of the FDP program are highly-sought-after.”
The advantages of an externship are significant, says Healy.
“Here, for example, they spend time in a Fortune 500 office environment and are exposed to the culture, modes of communication and rhythm of a fast-paced setting. Also, managers get a good look at the externs’ work and abilities and the externs get to extend their professional networks.”
This was Musser’s second externship. In 2011 he externed at the General Assembly with Senator Walter A. Stosch of the 12th District of Virginia.
“I was fortunate enough to be offered two externships at R-MC,” he says. “I would strongly recommend the Bassett Internship Program to any student who is looking to build connections and start networking early.”
Musser, who has played for the
Yellow Jackets baseball team for four years, says he would love to combine his love of sports and his passion for business in his future career.
“My dream job would probably be within the sports-merchandise field with a professional sports team,” he says. “I like the corporate world, but I am very much a ‘people person’ and it’s easy for me to communicate with others. I look forward to seeing what the future will bring.”
For Healy, working with Randolph-Macon students has been a great experience.
“Genworth has benefited significantly,” he says. “The externs from R-MC have all been excellent and that is the largest factor in the success of our relationship throughout the years. I hope that we continue this positive streak.”
*Genworth Financial refers to these experiences as externships, while Randolph-Macon College refers to them as internships. The Bassett Internship Program, now in its 30th year, is dedicated to providing a real-world backdrop for future academic learning, as well as preparation for life after graduation.