Smith MBA Interns Go Six-for-Six at Citi

Six MBA students at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business did summer 2017 internships at Citi in New York City, and all six received full-time job offers at the end of the program.

“Citi has a collaborative culture, which is something I find very appealing,” said Joseph Caraccio, a U.S. Army veteran who was part of the Smith School group. “It was something that attracted me to Smith, so I wanted to work in a company that has that culture as well.”

Bhrugi Badheka, a Smith MBA candidate from Mumbai, said she applied for the internship program not thinking she wanted to go into financial services. But the experience showed her how she could apply her marketing background in a different industry.

“I worked on the product and service experience team, doing the groundwork for a new project that just kicked off in September,” Badheka said. “I was doing a lot of market research, and can’t wait to go back full time.”

Nick Ditchey, another Smith MBA candidate, applied at Citi because he wanted to work in a company with a global footprint. During the internship, he worked with regional offices in Mexico and Singapore. “I worked with the technology group in operational risk and control, helping them gain more commonality amongst the entire globe,” he said. “The internship period was a test drive to see if I was a good fit for the company.”

William Woska also wanted to work for a global company. He heard about the Citi internship at a campus recruiting event, and his career coach at Smith helped him prepare his resume and cover letter. “There is a good pipeline from Smith to Citi,” he said. “There is no way I would have been able to get this job without an MBA degree.”

His classmate, Isaac Ashong, also received support from Smith’s Office of Career Services. “My coach encouraged me to apply for Citi,” he said. “With the Smith MBA program, you get a one-on-one interaction with your professors and coaches.”

Ashong said previous Smith School interns also opened doors. “The Smith students that interned at Citi before us did a great job, and I think that is part of the reason why we had the highest representation at Citi,” he said. “Smith has built a good rapport at Citi.”

Smith MBA student James Patrick Kenney spent his Citi internship in the individual strategy group. “I created a template for metric reporting to help the product owners better understand customer data,” he said.

He said many Smith School alumni work at Citi, and the community provided a solid support network. “When we received our full-time offers, all the Smith alums were IM’ing and emailing us to congratulate us,” he said. “We got together for Smith happy hour after work one day.”

— Mamayaa Opoku, Smith School communications writer