The First Week

On Tuesday, I had a full day of class and spent the night preparing for my internship. After doing more research in retail/consumer banking, I realized why I was given this placement at the Bank of Ireland. Consumer banking is focused on banking for individuals and all that that encompasses: savings and checking accounts, mortgages, credit and debit cards, loans, etc. In my recommendation letter my professor/supervisor wrote for me, she mentions that I was an exceptional student in her "Mathematics of Money" course, which covers topics such as compound interest, annuities,
investments, retirement plans, taxes, credit cards, and mortgages.

On Wednesday, I had the internship academic class in the morning and then traveled to my interview with fourteen other students that were at the same location. We left at 1:00pm with plenty of time, and we arrived fifty minutes early. We decided to wait outside Insomnia for a half hour before heading inside. After checking in at the reception desk, they called us all into a conference room where there was coffee, croissants, and pastries. We signed a nondisclosure agreement, and then we were given a 10-15 minute presentation about the bank and its history. We were also told that we would be given a card for free breakfast and lunch in their cafeteria. Afterwards, we were called up by the person we were to meet with. Ariana and I met with two gentlemen that took us up one floor to the mortgage arrears resolution team. We met a few people, given a tour around the office, and they explained what their department does. Basically, their department deals with people who don't pay their mortgage. Once the tour was over, we went back down to the conference room and were told that work is 9am-5pm. Before we left, I got my picture taken for my new employee ID, and four of us headed to Stephen's Green Shopping Centre to go to the Laptop Shop. Afterwards, we went to a Tesco Metro in the Temple Bar, I bought some food, and we took the Dublin Bus back to campus. Then I ate dinner and relaxed because I was exhausted. At 9:45pm, Samantha and I went to the Clubhouse, the campus bar, to check it out. They had a few beers and a couple ciders on draft and some liquors. We each got a half pint of Orchard Thieves Apple Cider, and then I got a cranberry juice and Jameson whiskey.

On Thursday, I had another full day of class with the internship academic class in the morning, lunch, then the finance analytics class in the afternoon. In class, we discussed the projects that we will be working on throughout our program including the Bloomberg certificate. After class, I went to check out the gym on campus and ran on a treadmill for about 45 minutes. Then I cooked, ate dinner, showered, and relaxed for the night.

On Friday, I had my last full day of class. We worked more with Excel in my finance analytics course and discussed the final exhibition for my internship course that will be the last week of the program. After class, I took a nap, made dinner, showered, and relaxed. We have our last class tomorrow morning, and it is the UCD Festival.

My Internship Location

Bridge I Cross to Get to Work - River Liffey

Stephen's Green Shopping Centre