Brock Krska
Accounting, B.S.
Spring 2025 Graduate
What did a typical workday look like? How was the workplace environment?
During my summer internship with Deloitte, I usually rolled into the office at 7:45 a.m., and I would grab a coffee from the employee break room. After grabbing my coffee, I sat at my reserved desk, since Deloitte uses a flexible seating system. Once I sat down, I would pull out my work laptop and connect to the monitors at my desk, where I would start by opening my company Outlook and sifting through any new emails. Once I had caught myself up on any new assignments or company news, I would look at my To-Do List and start working. My position at Deloitte was a tax consultant intern, and my work primarily focused on partnerships in the investment management (IM) industry. With that, Deloitte split my time up amongst three of their teams, including Business Tax Services, Multistate Tax Services, and Partnership Solutions Group. Essentially, these teams were federal taxes, state taxes, and an IT-focused group that helped with the coding behind one of their most used software. Throughout the day, I would divide my time among the different teams and work on the projects assigned to me, which primarily included tax returns.
Oftentimes, full-time employees, including directors and partners, would take interns and other employees out for coffee chats or lunch to tell us their experience with the company and what their job looks like. Many of the full-time employees were also very helpful during the internship, as they were always happy to answer any questions about why or how we do something in a certain way. Not only were these co-workers and other interns helpful to lean on when I had questions, but they also became good friends during my time there. Whether this was at company-sponsored events or getting a group together for Wednesday beach volleyball, the workplace environment and culture at Deloitte was even better than how others described it.
How did this experience help focus your academic and career paths?
Many times, students graduate from college and join the workforce only to find that they do not like their chosen field in the real world. However, after completing my internship with Deloitte over the summer, I knew that accounting was the field that I could see myself in for many years to come. More specifically, public accounting was where I wanted to start my career, though I also learned it carried more stringent requirements than other areas. To thrive in public accounting, accountants need to acquire their Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensure, so I knew that this would be the next steppingstone in my career. However, to obtain a CPA licensure as of 2025, I would need 150 college credits, which meant that I needed to return to college. After completing my undergraduate degree in accounting at GovState and having such an amazing experience, I decided to return and complete my Master of Science in Accounting as a Jaguar while studying for the CPA exam.
What advice would you give to a student considering an internship?
First, I would strongly recommend doing at least one internship before you graduate from GovState because many students learn after graduation that they don’t like their field of choice. By completing your internship sometime around your junior or senior year of college, you should be able to know if you want to make a career out of your field or if you want to pursue a different passion. Second, internships allow you to apply the knowledge that you gain from your courses to real-world scenarios. Not only can you apply what you learn, but these real-world scenarios will also teach you things you can’t always learn in a classroom. Third, internships play a massive role in your resume and in your pursuit of other positions post-graduation. Having an internship on your resume can help impress recruiters at organizations while providing you with great experiences that you can use in interview processes, like stories of leadership or problem-solving. In my case, internships can also directly lead to full-time positions post-graduation, as I was offered a position as a tax consultant once I graduated with 150 credits. Overall, I highly recommend students to search for and apply for internships, whether it’s in Big 4 public accounting or even local firms in the area. My internship at Deloitte proved to me how transformative these opportunities can be, and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
Best piece of advice you were given during your internship:
The best piece of advice I was given during my internship was to never be afraid to ask questions. Whether this was in my classes, during the internship, or even post-graduation, asking questions is one of the most crucial aspects of learning. As Confucius said, “The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.” Asking questions not only allows you to learn more, but it also shows others that you’re passionate about learning. However, there was an additional piece to this advice: to never stop applying myself. Although asking questions is necessary for learning, individuals must apply their knowledge and their problem-solving skills to overcome their obstacles instead of asking for help all the time.
Is there anything you did not expect about the experience?
One thing that I didn’t expect from the experience was the importance of the work that we were being assigned. In movies and TV shows, interns are usually the ones running to grab coffee or lunch orders, but during my internship, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. My engagement teams spared no time and started having us prepare tax returns and K-1s for partnership clients within the first week of the internship. Although these returns went through review by my seniors and managers, I still felt motivated knowing that my work meant something and contributed to the success of the team. Since the work was meaningful, it also taught me the importance of communicating my progress with my seniors while also ensuring that I was hitting my deadlines.
What is one of your most memorable moments?
One of my most memorable moments from my internship experience came on the second day of the internship. Since the first day was Work-From-Home, the second day of the internship was the first time that the interns had stepped into the office. When I arrived at the office in the morning, I met with my Onboarding Advisor, who was assigned to me to help with any general questions about the internship. With that, my Onboarding Advisor took me on a tour of the office, where I started networking with my future Multistate Tax Services team. One of the managers on this team told me that the entire Multistate group was planning a trip to the White Sox game that evening, and she asked if I wanted to tag along. As a Southsider, I immediately said yes, and she gave me and a couple of other interns tickets to the game. Since I didn’t have a car at the time, the same manager also connected me with the engagement partner of my team, who offered to give us a ride over to the stadium. Overall, I used my networking skills to become closer with my engagement partner while also seeing the White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers in person for free!