Amherst’s Early Talent Programs: Incubating Tomorrow’s Leaders
2020 Summer Intern
Analyst, Government Relations & Strategy
University of Georgia Economics major Lilly Young was shopping for internship programs to fill the summer between her junior and senior years when something caught her attention.
“The word ‘sustainability’ caught my eye,” Young said. “The Amherst Group’s government relations team was hiring a summer intern for 2020 to help with sustainability initiatives, and the opportunity seemed right up my alley.”
Young’s summer internship with Amherst turned into a paid cooperative experience during her senior year and a full-time job offer when she graduated college in the spring of 2021. She now works as an analyst for the External Affairs and Impact Strategies team, the same group she interned with in the summer of 2020, and is quick to praise her pre-graduate experience with Amherst.
“There were valuable learning experiences within Amherst’s summer program,” Young continued. “The last thing I wanted to do was ‘go through the motions.’ The idea of hands-on work experience, with priceless lessons learned, was what made Amherst stand out to me.”
Young is one of the two dozen pre- and post-graduate students to participate annually in Amherst’s Early Talent Programs, which serve as an extension of the private equity real estate investment, development, and management company’s professional recruiting efforts. The programs, which include summer internships for college juniors, seniors, and MBA candidates, and an Investment Management analyst program for recent college graduates, help Amherst identify new, diverse talent for its ever-expanding employee roster, which now spans 29 U.S. states and 13 countries.
Austen Carey, who directs talent programs for the Austin, Texas-based company, initiated Amherst’s Early Talent Programs several years ago by establishing key relationships with collegiate business schools, including the University of Texas (UT), Texas A&M, Texas Christian University, and Cornell University. Carey says Amherst’s Early Talent Programs have become a vital part of the firm’s talent acquisition strategy.
Director, Talent Programs
“These structured, on-the-job experiences allow us to identify and recruit rising talent for key entry-level positions, while also giving our experienced team members a chance to mentor and grow emerging talent from within,” Carey explained. “Bringing fresh perspectives and new ideas into the firm has been invaluable, and we look forward to welcoming new recruits into our Early Talent Programs every summer.”
UT graduate Harrison Palmer discovered Amherst’s summer internship offerings at a campus career fair and quickly applied.
2020 Summer Intern
Analyst, Business Intelligence
“At Amherst, I could pursue my interests across technology, real estate, and finance easily within a single role,” Harrison said. “My experience as an intern was extremely valuable, showing me real-world applications of my schooling and allowing me to explore my career in a more tangible way.”
After graduating, Palmer joined Amherst’s Data Analytics and Business Intelligence team as a full-time analyst, and he uses skills he first learned as an intern on the job every day.
“My role is critical to my career trajectory, as I am utilizing technical skills while still touching on my foundation in business and finance. Over time, I would like to lean more heavily one way or the other; however, this is an invaluable way to see both sides and experiment.”
This June, Anwar Garcia El Haber will transition from a summer analyst for the Asset Management group into a full-time team member. He’s thrilled Amherst offered him the flexibility to continue his cooperative experience while finishing his degree at UT.
2021 Summer Intern
Analyst, Expense Management
“My career opportunities were greatly enhanced by getting a role here, as multiple firms reached out after my summer internship about possible roles at their firms,” Garcia El Haber noted. “It also helped me see that workplace culture matters from an employee point of view, and that you have to be happy and get along with the people you will be working with every day.”
Amherst offers a variety of summer internships across its platform, from opportunities in capital markets and finance to marketing-communications and construction. Regardless of their professional focus, recent graduates believe their summer experience helped prepare them for life in the working world.
“I felt immensely more prepared for the corporate world as a recent college graduate transitioning into a business professional,” Young confirmed. “The internship provided evidence of my accomplishments in the workplace and provided networking opportunities beyond measure. But more than anything, the experience I had an as an intern at Amherst gave me the confidence to begin my professional career on strong footing. My day-to-day work life takes on new shapes and progresses in different directions, but the work I put in as an intern is still hyper relevant to where I am today.”
To learn more about Amherst’s Early Talent Programs and apply for current openings, visit the “Careers” section of Amherst’s official website, amherst.com/careers/.
