As an intern at Morningstar, Inc. I look forward to each day in the office because in such a large company, each day brings new learning experiences and new opportunities to enhance my understanding of the company and expand on my personal development. Being located at the company’s headquarters in Chicago, I am one of nearly 1,500 employees who occupy the space. Some days it is easy to feel like just another employee among many, but the company has constructed a culture in which every employee feels welcome. There are numerous events to get involved with the company’s initiatives through networking events, volunteer days, holiday gathering and many more. The emphasis on company culture and inclusion has elevated my appreciation for the company exponentially and made my time at Morningstar very memorable.

My role as a Library Services Intern for the Morningstar Research Products division has transformed over my tenure. I have worn many hats and through the duration of a company restructure, I took on many responsibilities I may not have had otherwise. Currently, in my day-to-day, I support our team Sales Representative with client outreach and prospecting initiatives. I get to work closely with our clients and have become their contact when they have trouble understanding or engaging with the database we provide. When a client reaches out with a concern, I work with them to understand how they are engaging with the platform and then walk them through troubleshooting techniques to help them resolve the issue. Of course, issues are not always solved on the first try and in that event, I will raise the issue to our team tech developer who then takes on the issue.

When I am not working with clients, I am actively working to prospect new territories and their library demographics to target new clients that my Sales Representative can being reaching out to. Once we have identified enough potential clients to deem new prospects, we initiate a direct mail campaign to reach clients directly. When putting together a direct mail campaign, I am responsible for writing the copy for our outreach and selecting the existing Morningstar publications that best fit the segment we are targeting. These responsibilities have given me the opportunity to grow exponentially as a marketer and provided tangible experience solidifying my decision in my major.

The opportunity to intern with Morningstar while being a full-time student has been an extraordinary experience and one that has helped me to gage the direction, I want to take my career. As I continue to grow in this role, I have mentors within the company to support me and who have become vital pillars within my personal network. These are individuals who I have built lasting relationships with beyond my role as an intern.