Intern Spotlight – Safa Arun (Fall 2014)

Safa Arun is a fourth year INTA major, also pursuing a Law, Science & Technology minor. She is most interested in the Middle East and continues to take Arabic since her freshman year of college. Safa spent a summer in Jordan on the Arabic LBAT, after which she interned at the American Chamber of Commerce in Amman. She has also been involved with a number of organizations on campus, and has served as Vice President in both AIESEC, a multinational student leadership organization, and Rethink, an on campus Disabilities Awareness campaign. This past spring, Safa interned with McGuireWoods Consulting here in Atlanta, Georgia. She has also recently accepted a position with Deloitte Consulting that she hopes to continue post-graduation. We asked her a few questions about how her time at Tech helped her succeed in her internship.
Safa Arun
What do/did you enjoy most about your internship and what did you find most challenging?
The dynamic nature of my role as an intern at McGuireWoods Consulting has been the most enjoyable, and at times most challenging, aspect of my time here. The Georgia Legislative session is by far the most hectic time of the year at MCW, and no two days are ever the same. I spent a good bit of time at the Georgia Capital throughout this session where my roles ranged from tracking and pursuing legal bills to attending high level congressional sessions and summarizing what transpired for my superiors. While at the office, I was expected to provide analysis on multiple forms of legislature, and I felt that my critical reading and writing skills have expanded considerably from this practice.

Tell us about an experience that made an impression on you during your internship.
The facet of my internship which has been most impactful to me has been my exposure to the extraordinary people that I was able to work with. My co-workers and supervisors are all supremely talented lawyers and consultants with expertise in every specialty under the sun, but I also benefited from spending so much time at the Georgia Capital and from meeting a variety of professionals there as well. I never thought that as an undergraduate I would get the chance to meet and acquire advice from so many state senators, congress people, and other regional experts, but it was definitely an experience that helped me grow professionally. I was always surprised by how much I was able to learn from just having a conversation with the person I was sitting next to while waiting for a session to begin. It really showed me that there are so many ways to tailor a career to your own interests, strengths, and lifestyle. This has been one of the most lasting impressions that this internship has had on me.

In what ways did your time at Tech prepare you for the internship?
My time at Tech has prepared me to handle any stressful situation or large workload with confidence. I know how to think quickly on my feet, which is something that has come in handy multiple times throughout my internship especially given the fast paced nature of the Georgia Legislative Session. Tech has also given me the analytical and diagnostic skills that set me apart from my peers. I have felt the benefit of being able to efficiently decipher, organize, and convey large amounts of information in short amounts of time. My technical skills have also garnered attention from my supervisors, and in comparison to my contemporaries, I have the advantage of being at ease with multiple software and database systems.

Related posts