Neha Satapathy

IM Pd 6- 12 AP
#32
05/19/2016
GT Mentorship Final Exam
1. I relate to the characteristic of an authentic task stating that one must recognize
that failure is a real possibility, and that success is not guaranteed. Many times over the
course of this year, I had to take a reality check and make sure I was sticking to my plan
to achieve my final goal. I also realized that there is no single right answer nor method to
follow for a solution when I was faced with several options for which I could continue
my research with. Lastly, I can apply the characteristic that one must require judgement
in order to carry out an authentic task to my internship. Many times during my internship
I had to figure out on my own whether or not I should have reached out to my mentor for
a question or figure it out on my own (or through google.)
2. If I had been given a second start at this internship, I think I would have been less
shy and more open to talking to people first. I would have interacted more with the
people in the office by going around and taking the initiative to start conversations, rather
than talking to my mentor most of the time. I think this would have opened up more
opportunities for me to complete work outside of just my mentors field of knowledge.
3. One highlight from my experience interning at Pinnacle Advisory Group was my
weekly conversations with my mentor, Mrs. Ristow. From day one of my internship, she
would take time from her busy schedule, ranging from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours, to have
conversations with me regarding a variety of finance related topics. These conversations
were so so so helpful in helping me thoroughly understand the concepts I was learning in
my internship and also helped me sharpen my conversational skills. Through these

conversations, I became a much better listener and will apply this lesson to my future
endeavors, both professional and casual.
4. One disappointment from this experience was not attending as many meetings
with Mrs. Ristow than could be possible. Unfortunately, the majority of her client
meetings or meetings with other financial advisors took place during school hours or
outside of our office. This didnt really take away much from my internship, but in not
attending these meetings I missed opportunities in which I could have observed my
teacher working in a professional atmosphere and learning what they talked about at
these meetings. Luckily, I was able to attend a symposium with Mrs. Ristow in October.
5. I feel like my final product was slightly incomplete but I am still happy with the
results. I was not able to accomplish as much as I had initially planned due to time
constraints and me having to give priority to other activities in my life (It appears my
hectic schedule will never change.) I am pleased that the data was able to prove my
hypothesis that children should begin planning for retirement at an earlier age, and also
happy that the data surprised me by indicating that parents were the main contributors to
retirement education.
6. By the end of the year, I realized that the best way to succeed in this class is to
turn in assignments way ahead of the deadline so that in case you forget, you can still turn
it in on time. I made the classic mistake of waiting too long before starting some of our
assignments, and had to stop everything else in my life to complete them.
7. I think that the Intern Mentor course itself was very well suited for high school
students. One change I would like to see in the program is IM students receiving rubrics
for all of the assignments given. You gave us examples and lists of what you wanted on
assignments, but then put emphasis on different things when grading. I know this caused
some confusion for students in the beginning of the year. Also, I think the leadership team

needs to do more because there was so much confusion in the first half of the year and
from what I heard, responsibility was not equally spread among leadership members.

Dear prospective IM student,

If you are taking this class just to obtain an internship, this is not the class for you. If
you are taking this class to pursue an interest you are having, then by all means continue on. The
reason I started this letter with such a disclaimer is because throughout this year, I have heard
from peers their discontent with how this class has fulfilled their expectations. People who
signed up for this class just to obtain an awesome internship forgot that there was a class
associated with it, and that there would be a lot of work involved in the process. If you are taking

this class because you have an interest in a field that an internship would help you with, then my
following words pertains to you.
Intern Mentor was a really fun class filled with people who had really cool interests and
passions. Through this class, I was able to explore my interest in business and learned so much
about my topic that I intend on continuing my work in college. Next year when Mrs. Sasser gives
you assignments, make sure you try to at least start them a week before theyre due. Good luck
next year!

Sincerely,
Neha Satapathy