Welcome (back) USG students!
If you all do not know me yet, my name is Menaza Fernando. I am an accounting major going into my senior year wondering the same thing you might be thinking: where did summer go? For my first blog post of the new semester, I’d love to share with you all about what I had on my summer agenda!
Internship
This summer I completed an internship at Aronson, a public accounting firm, where I completed rotations in both tax and audit. During the tax rotation, I prepared federal and state tax returns for corporations and high net worth individuals. On the audit side, I visited client sites to conduct cash and A/R testing as part of annual audits as well as revise financial statements.
Case Competition
In August, I had the opportunity to represent the University of Maryland in a National Case Study Competition sponsored by KPMG, a Big 4 accounting firm. The competition was held at the ALPFA National Convention in Dallas, Texas. The experience included late night practices, lack of sleep, and early morning presentations. It also included opportunities to socialize with students from all over the country, networking events, a fancy gala, and much more. Best of all: it was an all expense paid trip to fly to Texas and stay at the Gaylord Texan Resort for a week!
Travel
While summer was mostly work, I made sure to prioritize some travel fun. One of my travel goals is to visit 25 states by the time I am 25, or in short “25n25.” As of right now, my state count is at 11. This summer, I was able to add 3 more to my list. First was Texas for the competition. Then I flew to Massachusetts and toured around Boston and Cambridge. After staying a night in Boston, I left the city life and drove up to Vermont for a few days to enjoy the mountain views. The last stop was back to the city: New York City. Although I’ve been to NYC before, I have come to the realization that there is always a new area to explore during each visit.
Overall, it was an incredibly busy but amazing summer. Now that I’ve shared about my summer, tell me about yours. If you see me around campus, don’t be shy. Feel free to introduce yourself and say hi!
Gaylord Texan Resort
“Summer should get a speeding ticket!” – Unknown
Ashlynn
Aisha Sowe
Chelsea L
Kaitlyn Davis
kodonne4
melanyclaros
mnur2
rachelfadaka
shriyakoneru
ssarahowusu
USG
The Universities at Shady Grove (USG) 
What is your top priority state at this moment?
I’ve been lucky with being involved in programs that have allowed me to visit states I normally would not have gone to for leisure (e.g. Ohio, Missouri, etc.). So I’m hoping to get involved in more that will allow me to go all around the US – no preference. In the future though, I would love to visit California, Hawaii, and Alaska!