Giuliana Macaluso
Summer 2015
Giuliana Macaluso
Summer 2015
December 02, 2015
As a college student, I craved real-world professional experience. For this reason, I began seeking out summer internship opportunities early in the 2014-2015 academic year, but I wasn’t searching for just anything. I’ve heard countless tales of woe from peers who have spent their summers fetching coffees and organizing file cabinets for their superiors. I wanted something more – something that would allow me to put what I’d already learned in the classroom to use and challenge me to go beyond that which I already knew.
I learned of Booz Allen Hamilton’s summer internship program through a friend, and sent in my resume after doing some personal research of the company. The Booz Allen Recruiting Services Team kept me up-to-date during the entire application process, answering my questions and considering my resume. Within days, the Booz Allen team reached out to me regarding a phone interview, which was promptly scheduled. I knew during my interview that Booz Allen was special. My interviewers were kind and professional, asked meaningful questions, and answered thoughtfully and completely all the questions that I had about the Firm. Soon after, a Booz Allen recruiter reached out to offer me a summer internship, which I gladly accepted. And thus began the greatest learning experience of my life.
As an intern, I became part of a team serving Booz Allen’s Army account. I say “became part of” rather than “participated in” because I was fully integrated into my team. I regularly engaged in meetings and consistently collaborated with my team members. My leaders knew that I was interested in gaining practical experience in technical writing and technical editing, both of which directly correspond to my Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication major. My leadership took this knowledge to heart, and consistently gave me projects that both catered directly to my areas of interest and allowed me to gain knowledge that I simply couldn’t gain in a classroom.
These projects were purposeful, demonstrating my leaders’ interest and trust in me. I was honored to perform technical editing and technical writing for a government proposal and for an internal Booz Allen handbook during the summer. Seeing my potential and working to make my internship a time of growth, my Booz Allen team also allowed me to gain knowledge of design by giving liberty to create the handbook’s cover and internal layout and format. Further, I learned specifics of proposal writing that I would have never learned otherwise. My leadership consistently took my interests into account and challenged me to go beyond what I already knew to grow into a confident, well rounded professional.
I therefore have no doubt that Booz Allen’s success and deserved renown is a direct result of its exceptional leaders. Although I was an intern, my leaders invited and valued my ideas and opinions. I was regarded as an equal and was genuinely treated as an asset with skills to contribute. This sense of importance allowed me a space to be comfortable and, as a result, innovative. Every Booz Allen leader with whom I worked valued each member of their team, and it is this collective attitude of equality and collaboration that sets Booz Allen apart from other workplaces.
I firmly believe that challenging environments inspire the most growth, and my experience at Booz Allen confirmed this. It’s clear that my leaders and team members at Booz Allen firmly believe in their values, treat people with dignity, and perform exceptionally. It was my honor and pleasure to work within the one of the world’s finest consulting firms this summer, and I hope that I can continue learning and growing at Booz Allen very soon.
