Julie Stevenson, '11

Julie Stevenson ’11 landed an internship in the financial planning and analysis department at The Brink’s Company during her senior year, which proved to be pivotal when it came time for her to graduate. 

Initially, Stevenson was attracted to The Brink’s Company because of their presence internationally and their indirect work in the mining industry.

“I’ve always had an interest in mining ever since I worked in Guatemala where a lot of mining occurs,” she said.  In the summer of 2010, Stevenson worked as a managerial accounting intern with the non-profit organization, Asociación de Mujeres del Altiplano (AMA) in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.  According to its website, AMA works directly with the Highland Support Project, a non-profit organization based in Richmond, Va.

“I found out about this internship through a University-sponsored spring break trip I went on with the Highland Support Project,” Stevenson said.  

In that role, she was instrumental in drafting an accounting computer program and communicated with her coworkers and superiors exclusively in Spanish.  Then, during Stevenson’s internship with The Brink’s Company in the summer of 2011, she created financial models for specific lines of business and analyzed data to come up with future projections that helped produce country budgets.

Stevenson then interviewed with Brink’s Global Services (BGS) in January 2011. 

 “In May I talked to [the HR director] and the learning and development manager on the phone, and I was offered a position in the training program,” she explained.  “Having an internship with The Brink’s Company helped me receive my position with BGS,” she said.

Stevenson was placed in Hong Kong, one of the best training locations due to the many lines of business that BGS interacts with there.  “They asked me if I had a preference on where I was placed, and I said I want to go where I will learn the most and be the most helpful to the company.” 

As a management trainee, Stevenson observes what her fellow employees do on a daily basis in areas of operations, customer service, sales, and so forth. 

“After understanding what they do, I try the various tasks which include taking customer orders, talking to clients, preparing shipments, and exporting parcels,” she said.  The management trainee position allows Stevenson to be in a place of constantly learning new things and meeting new people, an aspect of her job that she really enjoys.

“The combination between operations and talking with customers is a good balance for me, because, as an accounting major, I like the process-oriented tasks. However, I am also a very outgoing person,” Stevenson said.  “I like the urgency of our operations, since there is a necessity to send shipments out the same day and deliver them the next day.”

Stevenson, who concentrated in both international business and accounting while in the Robins School, said that the courses she took as an undergraduate student helped prepare her to communicate across cultures.

“My international business classes taught me how to approach people of different cultures in business and in general everyday life,” she said.

The communication skills she refined in the Robins School of Business have been vital to her success as a management trainee at BGS.  “My communications skills across cultures has been the biggest asset of mine in helping me succeed in Hong Kong.”