Cheyenne George arrived at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa as a highly-recruited softball player but an injury changed her path. Now she focuses on working a full-time job, completing an accounting internship and managing a full load of courses.
A Business Management major, George is interning this semester at Quality Water Services in Ponca City. She contacts customers with delinquent accounts and balances multiple company checkbooks. In addition, she creates month-end reports for inventory and bank reconciliations.
George says the internship has opened the door to learning new information that is used in “real life accounting”. The work she has completed during her internship has brought to life what she had learned in previous and current coursework.
She credits the internship experience with providing an extended learning platform. “The work experience has provided “insight into hands-on financial experience and how accounting benefits the company,” she explained. Work she has completed during the internship has allowed her to become more familiar with every aspect of the company.
Interning at Quality Water Services has given George the connection between her coursework and real world application. She has enjoyed “having that ‘Aha, that’s what the book meant!’ moment”.
She credits her supervisor at Quality Water Services, Lacy Harris, with being more than a boss. “Lacy is an exceptional leader who promotes a strong skills set so I know I will be better in the future,” she said.
George plans to graduate in the spring and pursue a career in the accounting field. She wants to further her accounting knowledge through hands-on experience.
The NOC Division of Business has placed more than 30 students in internships over the past 10 years. “We believe experiential learning opportunities provide a meaningful ‘win-win’ situation for both the student and the company,” Cara Beth Johnson, division chair, said. “Students gain valuable practical experience and networking options through their professional mentors. Companies may learn new and creative ways of operating by using the cutting-edge academic knowledge of the interns.”
Any company that would like to provide an internship for an NOC student may call Dr. Rae Ann Kruse, NOC dean of academic services, at 580.628.6341.
