Packed With Potential: The Accounting Intern Experience at Viking Masek

Danielle Ohl

Internships offer real-world, practical career experience in a student's field of interest. They are a way to 'try out' a vocation prior to making a commitment and are often a student's first taste of a professional environment. But what is an internship at a packaging machine manufacturer like Viking Masek really like? In this first article of our Packed With Potential series, we're pulling back the curtain on the experience of being an intern in the accounting department.

Key Stats

Name: Joe Minecci

High School: Oostburg High School, Class of 2017

Internship Program: Sheboygan Area Youth Apprentice Program through Lakeshore Technical College 

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Getting Started at Viking 

Upon applying for the Youth Apprenticeship Program during his junior year, an open accounting position was found for Joe at Viking. He was invited to interview for the internship soon thereafter. "I was nervous for the interview at first, but Judy [Viking Masek Controller] helped make the process simple and comfortable," he comments.

On his first day, Viking celebrated with their customary 'Ice Cream Social', a tradition they have carried on for many years to welcome new employees and interns. Over ice cream, new interns have a chance become acquainted with the entire 50+ person Viking team, including the owners.

"Many times new interns can feel kind of invisible," said our late company President Rick Leonhard. "Our ice cream social is a great way to acknowledge and welcome them as important members of the team as well as introduce them to other departments." Plus, who doesn't love ice cream?

Daily Life in Accounting

A typical schedule for Joe during the school year was working at Viking 3 hours a day, 2 - 3 days per week. Over the summer he works full 40 hour weeks. Joe works in a shared office with Viking Masek Controller Judy Hilbelink.

Joe quickly learned basic accounting tasks and soon moved on to more advanced analytical accounting responsibilities. He takes particular pride in contributing to spreadsheets used in reporting, knowing they are valuable and provide impactful data to the entire company.

This spring Viking executed a major software implementation, during which Joe worked full time over his spring break to help ensure the department was ready to go live the following Monday.

Joe even got to try his hand at leading the department. "When we had turnover in our Accounting staff, he actually took the lead while I was gone on a long before planned two-week vacation," Judy says, "and he performed well, he was confident in his role." Yet another reason why internships are such a powerful tool; they give students a chance to try out a career and try on many hats to find exactly where their strengths and challenges lie.

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What He's Learned

His internship at Viking solidified Joe's career choice in accounting. He says that "without my internship, I would be uncertain heading into college whether this career would be right for me, but with my time at Viking, I am now one step ahead of everyone heading into the next stage of my education." 

Does Joe have any advice for future interns? "Always ask questions. It’s impossible to learn anything if you just do the tasks assigned to you. Learning why you’re doing certain tasks is much more valuable." 

Judy agrees. "He asks insightful questions about our business, why things are done a certain way, he is eager to learn." As Joe gets ready to leave Viking, he is passing down this advice to his replacement as he assists with their training.

The Future

After spending over a year and a half at Viking, Joe looks forward to attending St. Norbert College in the fall, with the goal of earning a degree in accounting. He plans to play soccer in college and is excited to get started working in his chosen field.

 

Read part 2 of our Packed With Potential Series: The Engineering Internship Experience