As the unemployment rate in Cleveland, Ohio skyrocketed amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Weatherhead School of Management students had the unique opportunity to intern for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank during their spring semester.
Denise Sun, Yang Shi, Polly He, Kairui Huang and Lucy Gu, students in the MSM-Finance program, were able to apply the skills they learned in the classroom to provide support for an organization at the forefront of the COVID-19 response.
During their internship, students worked in the accounting, finance and data analytics departments to maintain operations while the organization provided an increase in food security need in the Cleveland community. Projects included data cleansing using Python, data reporting using Tableau, improving donor support databases, supporting month end close, treasury services and updating financial metrics.
Denise Sun, who graduated this May from the MSM-Finance program, said the opportunity and experience will benefit her for a lifetime.
“As a finance intern at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank during the COVID-19 pandemic, I was lucky to see how brave the other employees were while fighting the invisible war,” Sun said. “After the stay-at-home order was put in place, we still commuted every day to work. The Greater Cleveland Food Bank is a blessing to more than 350,000 people in six counties, and I’m proud to have done my part during these unprecedented times.”
Learn more about the MSM-Finance program at Case Western Reserve University.