UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Colin Byrne, a fourth-year Paterno Fellow majoring in economics and minoring in mathematics, had the opportunity to complete a prestigious internship this summer at Washington, D.C.’s Bates White Economic Consulting, building a portfolio of skills to boost his career potential in the field.

Byrne’s internship was made possible with support from the Virginia Todd Chapel Executive Internship Program in the College of the Liberal Arts, which provides $5,000 to students completing top-level career development opportunities in the private sector.

Byrne said the experience would not have been possible without the financial support of the program, which allowed him to put his full effort into the internship without having to worry about finances.

“I want to thank the Chapels for their generous gift,” Byrne said. “Living in Washington on an intern salary is not easy, so having my living experiences relieved allowed me to focus more on this detail oriented work and stay that extra time at work without worrying about transportation.”

During his experience at Bates White, which specializes in economic consulting for lawsuits and litigation involving high monetary value, Byrne worked in the company’s antitrust practice processing and analyzing client data. 

“The cool thing about Bates White is we were placed on case teams in a war room where we would focus on our specific projects,” Byrne said. “At the end, all pieces would come together for the expert report that would be submitted for actual trial.”

While his day-to-day work focused mostly on data analysis, Byrne had the opportunity to participate in unique projects to gain a well-rounded understanding of the field. One job included pro bono work for Ronald McDonald House Charities, which was one of his favorite projects.

“Charities need to have effective analysis to receive federal grants, so I conducted a cost savings analysis to quantify the help families are receiving,” Byrne said. “I loved it because it was different from the defendant-focused work I typically did — it was much more wholesome and heartwarming to focus on.”

The internship, as well as living in Washington, made for an incredibly memorable experience, said Byrne, noting the connections he cultivated were particularly meaningful.

“The company culture was awesome; they did a lot to make the interns feel welcome,” said Byrne, who is originally from Emmaus, Pennsylvania. “We had a big intern cohort of about 40 people with most of us being new to the city, so it was great to make friends with people from different branches of the company, from different parts of the country, and from different schools.”

Following graduation, Byrne said he hopes to stay in the consulting field, either continuing with economics or moving into management or strategy. As he heads into his professional career, he said he believes that the skills he gained from this internship, as well as those developed at Penn State, will prove invaluable.

“This was my first time in a white-collar environment — I had never worked in an office before, so I learned a lot about professional behavior and communication,” Byrne said. “As you progress through the College of the Liberal Arts, you really work on these skills, so it was great to be able to utilize them.”

This is one in a series of stories about 28 Liberal Arts students who participated in Chapel Executive Internships this past summer. Students interested in applying for a Chapel Executive Internship for spring should apply by the Dec. 1 deadline through the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network.