“At W&L, you can definitely be creative and differentiate yourself. That translated into my professional experience this summer, too.”
~ Atiba de Souza ’26
Every summer, a wave of Washington and Lee University students with their sights set on a career in finance heads north, trading the quiet of Lexington, Virginia, for the fast pace of New York City. They arrive as interns at some of the world’s most prestigious financial institutions and spend 10 intensive weeks learning the realities of Wall Street. For many, the experience leads to return internship or job offers, a clearer sense of their path ahead and, most significantly, a deepened sense of belonging to Washington and Lee’s alumni network. This year’s crop of interns was no exception.
When San Francisco native Taylor Elliott ’26 accepted her internship with Goldman Sachs, she knew she’d be walking into a demanding summer, but she also knew she wouldn’t be alone. Elliott, an accounting major and computer science minor, spent her summer internship in structured finance, rotating through sustainable banking and consumer pods. She also made sure to take advantage of her time in New York to get to know as many people as possible.
“I enjoyed the work,” she says, “but the people I worked with were what really made the experience. I now think I have a good idea of what it will be like post-graduation, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Landon Shelley ’23 knows that feeling well. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native is now an associate in Goldman’s leveraged finance group and says she is glad to mentor current interns, including Elliott. Shelley returns to campus frequently to recruit and works closely with the Office of Career and Professional Development (CPD).
“We enjoy connecting with W&L students through the recruiting process and always love when we are able to hire one or two for summer internships,” Shelley says.
Shelley says she remembers being in Elliott’s shoes. As a student, she leaned on older lacrosse teammates, professors and alumni for advice. Both women credit W&L’s Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics with blending technical rigor and liberal arts skills.
“Even when I was taking classes on organizational behavior or negotiation, I truly didn’t realize just how much they would matter,” Shelley says. “Those small, interactive classes prepared me so well.”
CPD staff work with students and alumni to help them explore internship and job opportunities that may align with their interests and strengths, prepare them to be strong candidates for those roles and ultimately to be successful in their careers. As the office’s director of business advising and recruitment, Lauren Vance works with students and alumni interested in business industries, including accounting, consulting, entrepreneurship, real estate and finance.
“One of the first things we speak about with students who come to our office is how to tell your story,” Vance says. “We want students to reflect on their experiences and skills as well as the reasoning behind big decisions so that they can highlight their strengths and articulate how they differentiate themselves in a meaningful and polished way.”
Vance continues, “This is an important aspect of networking, which is another key thing we encourage students to embrace as they explore different career paths and when they start preparing and recruiting for a certain field. Networking is particularly important in finance, where we have a strong alumni network across various banks and firms and in a wide range of divisions and roles. These alumni are an invaluable resource to students — speaking on the phone to talk more about their role and answer questions, visiting campus to meet with students and sharing information about upcoming application deadlines. One of the best parts of my job is working closely with so many incredible W&L alumni, who are always willing to share their knowledge and support our students professionally.”
San Francisco native Wilks Taylor ’26 is double-majoring in accounting and economics and completed a rotational internship this summer with Citibank, where he explored three different areas of sales and trading: equity electronic execution, investment grade credit and corporate FX sales. Networking with W&L alumni was a fundamental part of his summer experience.
“If I had to guess, I’d say there are probably at least 20 different people in the part of the bank that I was working in who were W&L alumni,” says Taylor, who is currently considering an offer to return as a generalist at Citibank next summer. “Everybody I reached out to would always immediately get back to me and be super happy to chat.”
Kathryn Knolle ’26, from Houston, is double majoring in business administration and European history. She interned this summer at Next Capital Management, a small independent advisory firm that offers asset management and wealth planning services, as a client relations intern.
“Being at a smaller firm, I feel like I was exposed to so many areas of the business,” Knolle says. “I got to see exactly what an analyst does day to day — speaking with clients, trading and rebalancing portfolios — while also contributing to bigger projects like client proposals and due diligence on new investments. On top of that, I assisted with operations tasks, which gave me a deeper appreciation for how different departments rely on each other to run efficiently.”
Knolle credits the CPD office for helping her with networking, résumé help and interview prep.
“It also helped to talk through the offer with Lauren Vance,” Knolle says. “After committing to the internship, she was extremely helpful in giving me more contacts to network with.”
Beyond their networking experiences, students interning in NYC this summer say their after-hours city exploration was an energizing peek into what life after graduation will be like.
“My friends and I went to a few Mets games, went to concerts and tried hole-in-the-wall restaurants,” Taylor says. “There’s always something to do.”
Atiba de Souza ’26, an accounting major and Africana studies minor from Washington, D.C., interned at Lincoln International, a global investment bank that focuses on “middle market” companies, which are typically smaller than those handled by the largest Wall Street firms. He says the experience allowed him to learn more touchpoints of the work than he might have at an internships with a larger firm, and he likens his experience to attending a small liberal arts college.
“When I was looking at schools, I looked at one campus that has 25 times as many students as W&L. I felt like I would get lost,” he says. “At W&L, you can definitely be creative and differentiate yourself. That translated into my professional experience this summer, too.”
De Souza approached his summer networking strategy methodically.
“I made a spreadsheet of the top 30 or 40 banks and found two or three W&L contacts from each one, and I just contacted each person,” he says.
Philadelphia native Keaton Rush ’26, an accounting and economics double major, worked in Wells Fargo’s mergers and acquisitions group this summer and says the on-the-job learning experience was invaluable.
“It’s a lot of execution work, whether it’s diligence or valuation for clients,” Rush says. “A big draw for investment banking is that the clients you’re working with are some of the most successful people you’ll ever meet. You’re on calls with CFOs and CEOs of these major companies. Listening to what they have to say and figuring out how they think is fascinating. To have that experience at such an early age is super impactful for your career.”
Like de Souza, Rush says he values the preparation W&L provided him in advance of his internship experience.
“Even though we’re a liberal arts school, I’ve actually found that my finance skills rival those from schools where they go straight into finance,” he says.
Preston Larmore ’26, a double major in European history and accounting with a finance focus from Atlanta, interned with Houlihan Lokey’s Industrials Group this summer and says CPD was instrumental in preparing him for his internship.
“They helped me refine my technical and behavioral interview skills through mock interviews,” Larmore says. “I also relied on them for résumé and cover letter reviews, and they provided networking guidance that helped me connect with alumni at Houlihan Lokey.”
Larmore’s responsibilities centered on supporting live transactions and pitch work across mergers and acquisitions in the industrials group. He spent his summer building financial models, preparing client presentations, conducting industry and company research and analyzing strategic alternatives for clients while collaborating with his intern cohort on a case study presentation that was presented to the entire team during the final week of the internship. Larmore says the experience was a substantive opportunity to hone his professional skills.
“One of the most valuable learning experiences was understanding how to operate under pressure while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail,” Larmore says. “I also learned how to collaborate effectively with teams on high-stakes projects and to manage tight deadlines while balancing multiple workstreams. Beyond technical skills, I gained a deeper appreciation for the importance of clear communication with both colleagues and clients.”
Recent graduate Stephen Murrin ’24 now works full-time as an investment banking analyst at Houlihan Lokey after interning there as a junior and fondly recalls the sense of community that W&L offers those seeking a similar career path.
“The 10-week internship is a great opportunity to really understand what your life is going to look like,” he said. “Living in New York City, taking the subway to work, being fully immersed — it does its job extremely well.”
He’s grateful for the alumni connections he relied on during recruiting, adding that he is now happy to be able to pay that experience forward.
“When I was going through the process, everyone was willing to take a phone call,” he says. “Now, if I get an email from anyone from W&L, I’m always going to respond.”
Shelley’s advice to current students is to leverage the tight-knit nature of the W&L community and network.
“Relationships matter,” she says. “Build as many meaningful relationships as you can. You never know what’s going to lead to the next thing.”
If you know any W&L students who would be great profile subjects, tell us about them! Nominate them for a web profile.