Melissa Ehrler is not unlike most 22-year-old college seniors.  She enjoys sports, including lacrosse and golf.  She enjoys travel and visiting her friends.  And like most young women her age, she is ready to graduate and conquer the world.

Unlike most students her age, however, Ehrler has experienced the world of international investment management and real estate first hand.  As a summer intern at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in Zurich, Switzerland she worked as part of team of external auditors.  Together they audited the books of international companies, making sure the companies’ books matched the investment bank statements.

As a result, Ehrler entered her senior year at the Robins School with a job offer in hand.  She will return to Zurich in August 2008, where she will work as an external auditor.  After a year, PWC will send her to school, where she will earn her ACCA – the European version of the CPA.

“I never expected to become an auditor, but my international internship opened doors I never would have imagined.  The work was exciting, the team I worked with was terrific, and I got to work off-site at the clients’ offices, which was very interesting,” said Ehrler. 

“The Robins School really prepared me for this job – especially the emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving.  In addition, we are well-versed in standing in front of a group and making presentations.   The small classes are a plus and the professors are really very interested in making sure the students gain practical knowledge they can use throughout their careers.”

As a result of her upbringing, Ehrler, who is of Swiss decent, is proficient in four languages – Spanish, English, German and Swiss German.  This came in handy during her internship, where most people speak Swiss German, though written documents are in German or English.

Ehrler was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where she lived until she was 11. Her family then moved the South Florida, where her father started his own business.  She also has family in Switzerland, including her sister, a grandmother, uncles, aunts, and cousins.   When Ehrler returns to Switzerland, she will share an apartment with her sister, Patricia, who works in marketing for NordStream, a German-Russian gas pipeline project.

“My parents made sure we visited Switzerland every summer, to stay connected with our family,” continued Ehrler.  I have family in Lucerne and Zurich.  In fact, all of my family is in Switzerland with the exception of my parents.”

The Zurich lifestyle is like New York City, only smaller and more compact, says Ehrler.  Housing is expensive and difficult to find, and it makes more sense to commute by tram, train or bus than it does to have your own car. 

“I plan on spending the summer in Australia with one of my roommates before I head to Zurich.  It will be sad to graduate because I know there are many people I won’t see for a long time.  But I’m excited for the future.” 

This year’s annual dinner for graduating seniors will be held on April 8, 2008 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  We are pleased to announce that AXA Advisors and Philip Morris USA are co-sponsoring the event this year.

The Senior Dinner recognizes our graduating seniors with a reception, dinner, speaker, and an awards ceremony for students and faculty.  For more information, contact Lindsey Duke at (804) 289-8813 or lduke@richmond.edu.

Last fall, the University’s Career Development Center (CDC) sent out a comprehensive survey to students to gather data on students’ plans following graduation, where they want to work or study, what they want to do, and the companies they would like to work for. 

In this survey, the CDC gathered information about what students’ needs are in terms of geographic and industry preferences as well as an evaluation of CDC support services in the job and graduate school search process.  The CDC will be reviewing the data for factors that influence decision-making about pursuing a particular career path as well as the usage and satisfaction with the CDC during their career development process.

82% of Robins School students intend to pursue employment after graduation, while 11% plan to attend graduate or professional school. 

The preferred geographic region for employment is the Northeast, followed by the Mid-Atlantic and West.  The top metro area of choice among students is New York City, followed by Washington, DC and Richmond.

The top career areas of interest were: 1) financial services/banking; 2) accounting; and 3) advertising, marketing & public relations.

Students were also asked to suggest employers that the University should partner with in career placement efforts.  The companies that most interest students are PricewaterhouseCoopers, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Teach for America, and Google.

For more information on career development services, visit the CDC’s website.