Colin Henneberger ’14 is fully embracing the New York City internship experience this summer by working at Pioneer Financial. After waking up at 6:30 a.m., catching a train, transferring to the subway, and walking from the station, he finally arrives at the wealth advisory firm to start his workday at 9 a.m.
A subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual, Pioneer offers financial guidance to its clients and monitors their assets. Rather than take a sales position, Henneberger opted to focus on the advisory component of wealth management. By working under the four financial advisors at Pioneer, Henneberger hopes to master the necessary tools to create and interpret investment reviews.
While the position is unpaid, the experience he will acquire can be invaluable in today’s job market. Henneberger received a stipend for his internship through the Joseph F. Anderson ’44 Internship Fund, administered by Hamilton’s Career Center.
Custom software designs these investment reviews for clients, and Henneberger has been learning the programs. He is gaining experience in interpreting the data he generates, but he will know enough to join in the consulting process with clients and assist in guiding them with financial decisions by the end of the summer. Henneberger is not simply producing spreadsheets and staring at numbers all day. The reports he generates are valuable in examining the quality of certain investments and determining what a client’s next financial decision should be.
With a concentration in economics and a minor in mathematics, he has always been interested in working with numbers and statistics. This internship will enable him to see what aspects of the field he enjoys and could potentially specialize in for his post-graduation career.
Many Hamilton students have interned in the Pioneer office before and have had positive experiences. Henneberger actually heard about the internship through a friend of his father’s, illustrating the power of networking.
One of the most compelling features of his internship is the level of freedom he has during the workday. The teams of interns are released to complete their respective tasks after a brief meeting every morning. Henneberger can finish the work at his own pace while staying aware of how much needs to be done.
Along with other interns, Henneberger works on extra projects during his down time. These projects are aimed at helping the interns develop additional new skills as well as aiding the advisors in their work. He’s learning how to set and moderate his own deadlines, which will help him in future business situations.
The successful individuals that Henneberger is working for have already inspired him to follow up with more finance-related careers. They are “amazing mentors,” and he hopes to learn as much as he can from them before returning to Hamilton for his senior year. Hamilton offers students many outlets to follow their academic passions throughout the year and Henneberger participates in the Microfinance Club. He is also a member of the baseball team and captain of his intramural hockey team.
Henneberger is a graduate of North Shore High School (Glen Head, N.Y.).
