Alicia’s Internship Experience with Harborstone and the UW Consulting & Business Development Center

Alicia Chok, ’21

This quarter, I had a chance to work as a Lending Intern for Harborstone Credit Union. This internship has allowed me to seek discomfort and grow with the work I do. During this internship, I have reached out to over 300 small businesses around the Greater Seattle Area that are looking for extra capital to sustain their business or to expand their operations. I worked with another intern to create marketing materials through HubSpot and call potential interested businesses to ask if they would be interested in the different loan products that Harborstone offers. The process was uncomfortable at times and full of awkwardness. However, my hard work paid off when I received a call back from one of the business owners that I emailed. I shadowed my mentor during my initial call with the business owner and analyzed the questions and concerns that she brought up during the conversation.

A week after, I received a response from another business owner. This time I held our initial phone call alone. I applied what I learned from my mentor during our last initial call and identified key factors in the business’s eligibility to apply for a loan.  The meeting went well, and I sent out my first loan application for this quarter.

My experience this quarter, along with the training Harborstone provides on the business lifecycle and the 5Cs of lending, provided me with the expertise to confidently navigate my first sales call. The internship has not only provided me with hands-on experience in the commercial lending sector, but it has also helped me develop different soft skills that I will continue to use in my future career. I look forward to continuing my work after winter break and beginning new projects that will allow me to learn more about the lending business.

– Alicia Chok, ’21