Dave Sang and five fellow interns take a short hike on Waiheke Island, off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand.

International internships

UD students travel to New Zealand and London to intern with KPMG

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1:46 p.m., Sept. 22, 2014--This summer two University of Delaware accounting and management information systems students were selected to participate in global programs with KPMG, one of the largest professional services companies in the world. 

Senior Dave Sang was one of only 20 students from across the United States selected to participate in KPMG’s Global Internship Program. Sang spent four weeks interning for the company in Auckland, New Zealand. 

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Junior Kimberly De Benedictis participated in KPMG’s Global Advantage leadership program, in which she and 60 other students flew to London for a four-day externship. 

Sang and De Benedictis, who are both in the University Honors Program, shared pictures and stories about their global experiences, from networking and leadership opportunities to personal adventures and tourism. 

Dave Sang

Sang worked for KPMG’s investment banking group during his internship. His work included market research in the sales of New Zealand businesses, like a steel manufacturing company and a plant nursery.

“I was really happy with my experience because I got to do a lot of real work,” said Sang. “I built up a level of trust with the people at KPMG pretty quickly and they were able to give me some substantial projects to work on.”

During weekends, Sang and his fellow students visited various destinations around New Zealand, like the famous glowworm caves in Waitomo, in which thousands of small glowworms act as living lights.

During one visit to Queenstown, Sang went on a 10-hour hike to the summit of the Ben Lomond mountain and even tried bungee jumping.

“It’s very hard to describe, the feeling that you get,” said Sang of bungee jumping. “It definitely took a lot of personal motivation to push myself to do it.”

Sang said that being abroad helped him to gain a larger perspective on the world outside of the U.S. and reminded him of the wide diversity of customs and ideas that exist around the globe.

“Working abroad definitely sets you apart,” said Sang. “Even if you want to have your long-term career in the U.S., having international experience will put a different dimension on your resume and applications. It makes you stand out, and I think a lot of companies are starting to value more and more international experiences.”

For other students that are interested in programs like these, Sang has some deceptively simple advice: to work hard consistently from your freshman year onward. He said that this helps students to stand out in employers’ eyes more than anything else.

“For underclassmen coming in, I would stress being really on top of your game, being very aggressive and being extremely hard working,” said Sang. “Because that’s what it takes.”

Kimberly De Benedictis

During her summer internship in London, De Benedictis and her fellow students participated in workshops, toured London and met with clients and partners of the company.

De Benedictis said that her favorite part of the trip was going on a tour of the British Parliament, which she called “breathtaking” and “exquisitely decorated.”

“The amount of detail was impeccable and unlike anything I have ever seen before,” said De Benedictis. “After our tour, we were served breakfast in the House of Lords and had the privilege of hearing one of the lords himself tell us about his experiences with KPMG and about his life.

“This part of the trip stands out prevalently in my mind because I appreciated the efforts KPMG put into teaching us about England's culture and history,” said De Benedictis. “The program had a very nice balance of learning about the company as well as exploring and experiencing London. To me this balance is important; since KPMG is a global company, being accepting and respecting of other cultures is a necessity.”

De Benedictis enjoyed building working relationships and friendships with students from around the U.S. during her externship. Despite their wide variety of backgrounds, De Benedictis said that the students found that they had a lot in common. She was also able to network with partners from across the country, gaining helpful advice for the future.

Next summer, De Benedictis plans to intern with KPMG again, this time in Philadelphia.

“I couldn't be happier with my choice,” said De Benedictis of her internship decisions. “This program made me excited for my future after graduation.”

Internship opportunities in the Lerner College

Other UD students seeking to have experiences like those of Sang and De Benedictis can find information about internships at the Career Services Center.

“We are seeing a huge surge in employer recruitment, especially within the Lerner College,” said Jill Pante, assistant director of the Lerner College Career Services Center. “We highly encourage students to be proactive in attending networking events, using the Blue Hen Careers database and engaging with the Career Services Center so we can assist in making your search successful.”

Pante said that these internships are designed in the hopes of helping students to gain hands-on experience in their field of interest, while also “applying what they’re learning in the classroom to the world of work.”

Article by Sunny Rosen

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