Consulting and Business Development Center Internship Reflection

Alicia’s Virtual Internship Experience with Harborstone Credit Union
Alicia Chok
Class of ‘21

I have always been curious about credit unions, so when I saw UW Consulting and Business Development Center (CBDC) posted a lending internship on Handshake in partnership with a credit union, I decided to apply – and I don’t regret it. The internship was approximately 10-months long. It included credit trainings with Harborstone employees and some consulting workshops with the staff at CBDC. After the trainings, I was able to interact with small businesses around the Greater Seattle Area. One of the most memorable business owners that I talked to wanted to acquire a $5 million loan with Harborstone in an attempt to take over a hotel business from a friend. Although the deal didn’t go through, I was able to learn a ton from the sit-in meetings that I had with the executives of Harborstone and the business owner.

In addition, I worked on several projects to help businesses who were in need of funds but were not eligible to acquire the loans they wanted. For instance, I compiled a list of non-profit organizations that could help these businesses receive funding and referred businesses to the organizations when they were disqualified for a loan. Although not everyone I talked to was interested in a loan, I was still happy that I got to talk to them and learn about their journey sustaining their business during the pandemic.

I want to end this post with a thank you note to my manager, Khatsini, who has been the biggest supporter in my time at college. She was knowledgeable, empathetic and last but not least, a great leader. I had so much joy working with her this school year and I hope the future interns will feel the same as well.