Hannah Swoish, Class of 2020

From Blessed Trinity Catholic High School to Pitt Business

Born Competitor

I love competition. In high school, I was a top-notch gymnast. Due to injury, I retired from that sport, but I needed something to scratch that itch. What did I chose? Boxing of course!! The sports are not as different as you may think. Both take extreme amounts of dedication, focus and training.

You know what else does? Your education. 

I picked Pitt Business because competitively they are one of the best in the nation. Publicly ranked #11 nationally out of all business programs. I was also very intrigued with their message of “From the Classroom, To the City, To the World.”

Hard Won Fight

Leading Change

I hoped to integrate myself into the culture of Pitt Business as quickly as possible. So, I joined a student organization, Phi Gamma Nu (PGN). They are the smallest business fraternity at Pitt Business, and because of this the bonds that I formed within the organization felt more meaningful. After joining, I became the philanthropy chair, and then followed to take on the role of chapter president for my junior and senior year. Under my presidency, PGN decided to re-brand the organization as a professional development organization, moving away from the fraternity aspect. We now accept all majors, providing professional and personal growth to anyone who has a passion to achieve such goals. Our emphasis is on career development for success in today’s workplace. Most importantly, we are a FAMILY that celebrates the individual. PGN is a major reason why I feel at home on Pitt’s campus and I am forever grateful to having joined the organization when I did.

I joined Phi Gamma Nu and became the chapter president during my last two years at Pitt Business.

From the Classroom

One of my favorite classes I took was Intro to Information Systems, where I met Professor Rodi (Interim Associate Dean, Tony Rodi). He made coming to class in the summer at 6 p.m., for 3 hours, enjoyable (still not sure how that is possible, but he did it). I could tell Professor Rodi was passionate about his work, his teaching, and more importantly his students. He made an effort to get to know me and the other students on a one on one basis. It was because of Professor Rodi that I found an interest in Information Systems and decided to switch my major to BIS with a focus in Data Analytics.

PwC Internship

Within one month of transferring to Pitt, I landed an internship with a Big 4 accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).  The internship was in Wealth Management and Tax Services, and I obtained it through contacts I made at the Pitt Business Career Development Conference.  I knew that this opportunity as a sophomore would be a great way to get my foot in the door and to experience what day-to-day life is like working in a corporate office. Another benefit was that I was able to take the internship for credit while taking four other classes during the spring semester.  The internship offered great hands on experience and I really enjoyed the company culture at PwC.

My advice when searching for internships would be to just go for it. Apply to the position and when you get the interview, just be yourself. Remember, its just a conversation with another person. No need to get nervous, they’ve been in your shoes before, so have fun in the interview! Heck, you get to talk about yourself – be proud of what you have accomplished and have confidence in what you have to offer.

Career Ready

My Future is at PwC

The summer after my junior year, I returned to PwC for an internship in Risk Assurance.  When I switched my major, I wasn’t sure what that would mean as far as internships or job opportunities. Nevertheless, I talked with the PwC Campus Recruiter and she guided me towards this area. I was placed at PwC’s Indianapolis office and had the opportunity to experience even more hands-on experience with client work, including traveling to and from various cities to meet with clients in their offices. I was able to travel to Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Pittsburgh all in 9 weeks. At the end of the internship, they offered me a full-time job offer to join their team as a Risk Assurance Associate in July 2020. I am still beyond excited and honored to be able to start my career with such an incredible company.

Commit to Pitt