Besides gaining professional experience, a group of Brigham Young University students showed they have what it takes to make it in the financial services industry. While interning at Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, a team of eight BYU students including four from the Marriott School became the company’s top selling intern team. Northwestern Mutual named BYU interns the1999-2000 College Team of the Year.
BYU team members included Marriott School students Jeff Segelke, Sally Reynolds, Robert Lockhead and Chris Barlow along with fellow BYU students Rob Morgan, Spencer Stewart, Rob Eagleston and Trent Read.
“It feels great to know that we are the number one student intern team in the nation,” said Jeff Segelke, an undergraduate business major at the Marriott School. “Northwestern Mutual Financial Network has given us a lot of recognition within the company including acknowledgment at their annual meeting in Milwaukee.”
More than 200 student intern teams from universities across the nation participated in the company’s competition to sell life insurance policies. Student intern teams were allotted points according to the number and value of policies sold between June 1999 and May 2000. In addition, teams were awarded bonus points for rookie intern sales. BYU’s student intern team finished with a winning 155 contracts with $132,907 in premium.
Segelke, who plans to work for Northwestern after graduating in April 2001 said, “My internship at Northwestern has given me a head start for my professional career. It has helped me develop my communication skills and increased my knowledge of financial planning.” In 2000, Sales & Marketing Management recognized Northwestern Mutual Financial Network as America’s best sales force. The Princeton Review also recognized the company as one of the top ten internships in the country for the past five years.
The top five teams behind BYU were the University of Missouri-Columbia, Kent State University, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and University of Northern Iowa.
The Marriott School’s Institute of Marketing provides students with academic internships in marketplace careers. Internships are offered by a variety of top firms including IBM, Wal-Mart, Merrill Lynchand Dillard’s. In addition to receiving practical managerial experience, many students choose to travel abroad for their internships. This year students accepted internships in China, Japan, Germany, Mexico and Chile.
_
Writer: Carrie Beckstead