Alexis Lott '21 spends most of her internship surfing social media. Actually, that's what she's been trained to do. Specifically, Lott spends hours at a time poking around LinkedIn. The marketing major is trolling the networking database for Charter Oak Financial. She researches 20 to 30 companies a week, typically finding her leads via LinkedIn. Charter Oak Financial then uses Lott's information to recruit potential clients.
Lott is provided with a master list of companies each week. The internship is remote, and so there's no supervisor standing over her shoulder to keep her on task, but the results are still due by Friday. The nature of the work has made her more self-reliant and improved her time management.
Lott once described herself as shy. Not anymore. Through her course work, she's been expected to present to audiences and complete mock interviews. Those opportunities helped to crack her shell, which gave her the confidence to succeed in her internship.
Originally, Lott wanted nothing to do with business. In high school, she considered criminal justice, but when she settled on Siena, she had to pivot to a different area of study. At first, it was anything but business. But after graduation, she'll be returning to Siena to work toward her MBA.
Lott says the passion her professors all shared for their subject matter was contagious. And once she got a taste of it herself, she was hooked. She's not yet sure exactly how she'll make her mark in business, but she's convinced she's in the right place to figure it out.
“Don’t be afraid to branch out. Really listen to others and yourself, you can really learn from it. Execute your tasks. As a freshman, it may not seem realistic, but don’t take opportunities and moments for granted.”