Last year, COVID-19 upended the world and internships moved online. Thankfully, for Hassan Williams-Kone ’21, his summer internship with private equity firm Cordatus Capital—established through the Center for Career Engagement—was just as enriching remotely.
“I was surprised at how much I was able to learn considering COVID-19,” said Williams-Kone, a political science major with minors in business and peace and justice studies. “Despite being remote, I still benefited from being able to talk to my manager and other senior staff whenever I had questions, which really helped me to learn and grow. It was still a really hands-on experience.”
Williams-Kone worked as a private equity analyst thanks to Kevin Lippincott P’21, who partnered with the Center for Career Engagement to host 11 interns at the Dallas-based firm where he is a partner. As an intern, Williams-Kone researched companies that might be struggling due to COVID or otherwise, and made recommendations to the equity firm on those that might benefit from investment.
Gettysburg’s Center for Career Engagement made the connection between the firm and Williams-Kone, for which he is grateful. “The Center for Career Engagement is a wonderful resource for students. They definitely want to help you and they really want to see you find employment or internships that are the right fit for you. I would encourage all students to definitely use the Center.”
The Center for Career Engagement helps students by empowering them with the necessary tools and strategies to create and pursue meaningful futures and career paths. It provides internship and career opportunities, career preparedness resources, and an online engagement, networking, and mentoring platform, connectGettysburg, among other offerings.
Mentors have played an important role in Williams-Kone’s life. In fact, he said, without the intervention of of Darrien Davenport, former assistant secretary to the Board of Trustees whom he considers a key mentor, he likely would not have even been able to arrive on campus his first year nor become as successful as he was during his time as Gettysburg College. Originally from New York City, Williams-Kone and his family did not have a car, which was a barrier to visiting the campus and learning about the college.
After graduation, Williams-Kone plans to work in finance. He currently has multiple job offers in commercial banking and investment management. He looks forward to staying in touch with the Gettysburg Network and encourages other students to leverage the wide variety of professional alumni and friends of the college through the Center for Career Engagement.
He concluded, “Be proactive. Don’t wait. Start planning for your future now.”
By Katelyn Silva
Photos courtesy of Hassan Williams-Kone ’21
Posted: 08/27/21
