University of New Hampshire Athletics
Wildcat Summer - Paige Hillis
7/12/2019 9:44:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving, Academics
Hey Wildcats! My name is Paige Hillis and I'm a rising junior currently on the swimming and diving team and studying business administration with an option in accounting. I'm originally from Mississauga, Ontario so this summer I returned home and I'm interning with the Business Development Bank of Canada. My experience at the bank has helped me see how the working world really operates. I continue to learn while still enjoying myself. Here is my Wildcat Summer!
ABOUT THE BANK
BDC is the only bank in Canada that is devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs. They offer financing, venture capital, growth and transition capital and consulting services to their clients. They want to help people that want to turn their idea into a successful business by loaning them money to get them up and running. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to work at the bank. I liked that the company not only helped out clients but also benefited the economy and the surrounding population by introducing new businesses. BDC only has 2,200 employees across all of Canada so I was really excited when I was offered the internship.
MY ROLE
I'm spending 14 weeks working with the bank at a location about a 30-minute drive from my house. My job as an intern is to support my branch and aid the other employees in anything they need to be done as well as accomplish tasks that are given to me. I have been working on their Data Integrity Project to make sure that all client information is correct in their database. I am also responsible for collecting companies' year-end financial statements, making up prospect lists for each of my branch's account managers, depositing checks, uploading important documents and best of all, attending client meetings where I get to tour industrial sites and learn more about people's companies.
TRAINING
When I came home at the end of second semester I got in contact with my old swim coach and he welcomed me back to train with him and my previous teammates for the summer. It is much more enjoyable to train with my coach who motivates me, rather than training by myself in lap swim. I practice in the pool 5-6 times per week and either run or lift weights two times per week.
My job hours are 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. and afternoon practice usually ends around 6 p.m. which makes it difficult to get a good workout in. I ended up going to the morning practices everyday (except Thursdays) jumping in the pool at 5:30 a.m. It is tough but the pretty sunrises make them more bearable!
WEEKENDS
I grew up in the city of Mississauga which is about 20 minutes from downtown Toronto. Having the city so easily accessible I usually find myself there on the weekends. There is always a lot of events going on such as food festivals, pop-up markets and sports. One of my favorite things to do downtown is go to the Toronto Blue Jays games. It's especially fun when the roof is open and you have good company. Hopefully the Jays can win a world series soon because the Raptors just won the NBA Championship!
Another one of my weekends I spent visiting my close friend and teammate, Melissa Dingle. She's also from Canada but lives two hours east of me in her hometown of Brighton, Ontario. She's been working in New Hampshire for the summer so when she came back for a few days I decided to go visit her. Her family owns a restaurant and she lives right on the water so that's where we spent most of our time.
COTTAGE COUNTRY
My family has a cottage up north in Parry Sound, Ontario where we spend a few weekends every summer. We spend our time doing typical cottage activities such as waterskiing, tubing and boating. Our lake is named Horseshoe Lake aptly named after its horseshoe shape. It's always fun to go up there and see all our cottage friends and enjoy some time away from the busy city.
I'm really looking forward to getting back to school in the fall to compete and see all of my friends at UNH but for now I'm enjoying my summer at home!
Keep checking back to UNHWildcats.com for more of the "Wildcat Summer" series.
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