{"id":23276,"date":"2014-08-29T14:02:01","date_gmt":"2014-08-29T14:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=23276"},"modified":"2017-06-27T13:42:19","modified_gmt":"2017-06-27T17:42:19","slug":"fiu-interns-are-number-one-at-pwc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2014\/08\/fiu-interns-are-number-one-at-pwc\/","title":{"rendered":"FIU Interns Are No. 1 At PwC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two Florida International University (FIU) School of Accounting undergrads, Daniel Rodriguez and Peter De La Rosa, won two multi-team competitions aimed at boosting PricewaterhouseCoopers\u2019 (PwC) and its clients\u2019 bottom line.<\/p>\n

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FIU Business student Daniel Rodriguez (left), participated in an award-winning team of PwC interns.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The interns analyzed megatrends identified by PwC as \u201cshaping the world, driving markets and business.\u201d Both groups competed against participants in multiple cities, and made live presentations \u2013 one in Boston and the other in New York – before PwC executives.<\/p>\n

Led by Rodriguez, now a junior, as captain, one four-person team from PwC\u2019s Boston office competed against 47 interns from several of the firm\u2019s offices in Northeast markets and examined how increased diversity would expand the firm\u2019s growth. They used the top-down approach Rodriguez learned during a class at FIU.<\/p>\n

The team developed the Venture International Program, an eight-week global internship that sends students on six-week runs to PwC offices in emerging markets.<\/p>\n

\u201cParticipants learn firsthand how to assimilate as a minority and use it as a competitive advantage,\u201d said Rodr\u00edguez, whose internship was at PwC\u2019s Boston office. \u201cIt leads to innovation and new strategies. When clients see people who look like themselves, there\u2019s increased confidence and trust builds easily.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Daniel Rodriguez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a second competition, incoming senior Peter De La Rosa was part of a five-person team that competed against 23 other teams, analyzing how PwC client iRobot could benefit from two megatrends – technological breakthroughs and the shift of economic power \u2013 to add products and services. They worked virtually, with De La Rosa\u2019s partners based in multiple cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe explored what is happening now and how that will develop into the future to help clients prepare for what\u2019s coming down the pipeline,\u201d said De La Rosa, who was at PwC\u2019s Miami office. \u201cAs a team we learned communication skills, how to coordinate working together, and the importance of not reciting from note cards.\u201d<\/p>\n

The assignments were not simple, De La Rosa and Rodriguez recalled, but the lessons learned were invaluable.<\/p>\n

The biggest challenge, noted Rodriguez, was communicating with people of different personalities and learning how to employ his leadership skills. The toughest one: knowing when \u201cto step back and chill and give others the opportunity to lead.<\/p>\n

At the conclusion of De La Rosa\u2019s presentation, he and his teammates met with the judging panel, getting feedback on hits and misses.<\/p>\n

One lesson stands out. During their presentation, the only female on the team stood opposite the four males, giving judges the impression that she was being excluded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn\u2019t notice, but if that\u2019s the perception it\u2019s a huge problem,\u201d said De La Rosa. \u201cThe whole competition really resonated with the group and will definitely make us better going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he returns to FIU, De La Rosa sees himself as a coach, connecting School of Accounting students with recruiters and answering their questions about internships and programs available.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can help them identify what to focus on, what the firms offer, and encourage the students to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two Florida International University (FIU) School of Accounting undergrads, Daniel Rodriguez and Peter De La Rosa, won two multi-team competitions aimed at boosting PricewaterhouseCoopers\u2019 (PwC) and its clients\u2019 bottom line. The interns analyzed megatrends identified by PwC as \u201cshaping the world, driving markets and business.\u201d Both groups competed against participants in multiple cities, and made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":24651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[3355,3356,2151,3357],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23276"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23276"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28486,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23276\/revisions\/28486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}