Working with Ellery this summer has been nothing short of an incredible experience and one I will certainly never forget. I can confidently say that I could not have imagined a better internship experience and that I would recommend working with Jalen and Orlando to absolutely anyone who is interested in the finance industry. The reasons that I have enjoyed myself so much over my time this summer boil down to three major categories: personal connections, real responsibilities, and widely applicable skills.

Ellery’s focus on not only building comradery among its intern class but also with each intern individually is one of the most differentiating aspects that I have ever experienced in an internship. Each and every day, we start our morning meetings off with fun ice breakers so that we can all get to know each other better and motivate us throughout the week to complete our work. Through these discussions, I have gotten to know my other interns and Jalen very well and feel that we have developed relationships past the standard boss/employee acquaintanceship. But, this personal connection extends even further past just in our scheduled meetings. Jalen and Orlando have both taken time out of their days to personally help prepare me for interviews I had over the summer by talking about their past experiences and sharing advice. Seeing them do this for me proved that once part of the Ellery team, they will have your back and invest time in you without hesitation.

The work itself is another reason that I have enjoyed my summer so much and why the Ellery experience is truly unique. In other internships, interns are given menial tasks and are essentially just kept busy for the sake of being busy. At Ellery, our sourcing and outreach to potential acquisitions are being directly used by Jalen and Orlando to create deal flow. In addition, we are currently conducting research projects in specified MSAs around the United States and gathering information from local CAMs, vendors, and HOA board members. These projects will again be used directly by Jalen and Orlando to obtain a better understanding of the competitive landscape in the area and make more informed decisions about possible acquisitions. Knowing that our work is actually helpful to Ellery is extremely motivating and makes it all feel like a truly rewarding experience.

Finally, the Ellery experience has been amazing due to the widely applicable skills I have learned over these last few months. Through our internship work, I am not only gaining great experience in sourcing potential acquisition targets and mapping market landscapes but also in learning how to network efficiently. This is a skill I can apply to my life immediately because I am currently in the process of networking for my next summer’s internship. Sending out hundreds of emails as well as conducting multiple phone interviews for Ellery has allowed me to learn from doing and improve my networking skills substantially. These skills are being translated right into my networking with banks and other firms as I more efficiently learn how to talk to strangers. In addition to networking, I am also building a more solid understanding of technical finance skills through our weekly talks with Orlando. This is also immediately applicable because having this knowledge will help to separate me from other candidates in the interview processes.

I cannot say enough about my time at Ellery and the experiences I have had with the team. The Ellery experience is one of a kind and one that I will cherish forever.