Amanda's Intern Insight

Oceanview!  Fruit Bar Everyday!  Unlimited drinks!  Celebrity Sightings!

Although this sounds like an amazing vacation, these are just some of the perks provided at my internship this summer!

I am currently interning at a mid-market accounting firm Berkowitz Pollack Brant in Miami, Florida.  This internship is a 7-week rotational internship, in which I spend 2 weeks in each of the 3 accounting departments- tax, audit, and forensics.  This week wraps up the end of my time in the tax department.  All of the firm members have been so welcoming and answered all of my ridiculous questions. 

Just in these last three weeks as an intern I have learned a lot.  Some of the most important lessons I have learned are:

    1.  Ask Questions

a.     As an intern, the staff does not expect you to know everything.  This is a learning experience for you.

        2.  Work Hard

a.     All employers are looking for employees with strong work ethics.

b.     Always ask if there is something extra you can work on or help with.

        3.  Laugh at Your Mistakes 

a.      All employers are looking for employees with strong work ethics.  Always ask if there is something extra you can work on or help with.

b.     It is inevitable that you are going to make mistakes.  So relax and don’t     put more pressure on yourself.    

        4.  Learn from your mistakes

a.     The worst thing to do is make the same mistake over and over again.

Finally,

        5.  Have fun!

a.     Enjoy the moment and the opportunity provided to you!  Take advantage of everything that the company has to offer.  Go out to eat lunch with employees.  Meet people from other departments. 

I hope you all are having a great summer! I can’t wait to be back for the fall!

*And to clarify…
- The office does have an oceanview from the main meeting room for the firm.  The office is located along Biscayne Blvd.

- The fruit bar is part of the firm’s wellness program.  There is always fresh fruit in the kitchen to promote healthier eating.  And the unlimited drinks are limited to water and coffee.  Haha

- The celebrity sightings were during my lunch break on Monday when I stepped outside our building and watched the Miami Heat Championship Parade along Biscayne Blvd.  I watched the floats roll by full of family and friends of the oh so talented Miami Heat players!

Chi O love and Mine,

Amanda Pivacco

Rachel's Birthright

Shalom! I recently returned home from an amazing 10 day trip to Israel. Finally being 18 allowed me to take advantage of the all expense paid 10-day Israel trip through Taglit-Birthright. This trip is for people ages 18-26 that have a Jewish heritage. I went through Chabad at UF which means I was with 39 other UF students who are now some of my closest friends. We started out at the north of Israel in the beautiful Golan Heights and made our way south as the 10 days progressed, concluding our trip on the beach in Tel Aviv. Each day we woke up at 7 and were non-stop hiking and doing activities until dinner time. It was very exhausting but extremely worth it. The first day we hiked the Jilabun water hike which was a hike that ended at a beautiful waterfall. Jerusalem was one of the most amazing cities we visited in Israel. We visited the Western Wall, also known as the Kotel both during the day and later that night for Shabbat. It was an amazing experience and so much fun. That same day we received 8 soldiers that stayed with us for 5-days. In Israel everyone is required to go into the army at age 18. This was so surreal for us because all of the soldiers are our age but fighting for their country instead of going to college. All of the soldiers were awesome and so similar to us. That same day we did an underground water tunnel hike. This was extremely scary because our tour guide would not allow us to use flashlights. This hike was in the complete darkness in an underground tunnel where the water reached as high as our thighs. This experience made all of us on the trip much closer and bonded our friendship. The last day of the trip we ended in Tel Aviv, this city was a lot of great shopping and beaches. I advise anyone who ever has the opportunity to see Israel to definitely go! I know that this is an experience I will cherish for a lifetime.


Love,


Rachel Levine

Rachel at the Western Wall

Rachel on a sunrise hike of Masada

Rachel's view overlooking Jerusalem 

Anna Beth's Dream

When I was four years old, I told my parents I was going to be a doctor. When I was in 6th grade, I did a project on the antigenic inheritance of blood types. In 2011, I became the first person in my immediate family to attend college, and this year I was accepted into the Junior Honors Medical Program at the University of Florida. It's a been a long road, but I have never stopped being obsessed with medicine.

When I came to UF, I immediately joined two organizations: Chi Omega and UF Pre-Med AMSA. Both groups of people have had a great influence on my life these last two years. In Chi Omega, I found my support group, the people I could spend hours on the couches with and talk about life. In AMSA, I found tons of people just like me, sharing the same interests and obsessing (commiserating really) over the same classes. All of these dynamic relationships made and helped me mature into the person that will hopefully make a caring physician.

Over the next year, my third and final year as an undergrad at UF, I will be taking a couple classes, writing a thesis, and most importantly, soaking it all in. I can't wait to see what the year holds, with my sisters, my friends, and my own development. I look forward to football games and Physical Diagnosis seminars, and really enjoying the campus that I have just committed the next five years of my life to. I'm thankful for all the opportunities UF and its people have given me, and I look forward to the future it's preparing me for.

- Anna Beth West

Anna Beth in Thailand on a UF College of Medicine Trip    

Anna Beth is the Vice President of Pre-Med AMSA at UF    

Anna Beth supports Chi O by playing on the intramural volleyball team    

Anna Beth in Thailand on a UF College of Medicine Trip    

Anna Beth eating a cricket at the local market in Thailand on a UF College of Medicine Trip    

Allie in Italia

Ciao bellas! I also recently traveled abroad for a family girls trip that included my mom, sister, grandma, aunt and cousin. The main place we went was Italy because, don’t let the blond hair and green eyes fool ya, but I’m Italian Our first stop was Venice- a place unlike anywhere else- we went to two islands, Murano the “glass-blowing island” and Burano the “lace island.” Next stop on our itinerary was Lake Como, a mountainous city on a beautiful lake. While staying in Lake Como, we took a spontaneous day trip to Lugano, Switzerland, and Switzerland was a pleasant surprise- we wanted to stay longer than a couple of hours and definitely plan to go back! The next day we took a train to the fashion capital of the world Milan- it was a cleaner and more historical New York City. From there, we went to Firenze (shout out to all our sisters studying abroad there- so jealous!). We took an amazing trip to 3 different cities (Sienna, San Gimignano where we tasted “World Champion” gelato, and Pisa where we were those tacky tourists trying to hold up the Leaning Tower) and had lunch at an organic farm/vineyard in Tuscany. Rome was the next stop, and we saw all the awesome sights- the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Vatican, etc. Our final stop was the City of Love- Paris France. Paris was a nice change of food and scenery, and the Eiffel Tower is literally one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Our trip was an amazing and one-of-a-kind experience filled with tons of memories and so much fun!

Love,

Allie North

Allie at the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy 

Allie in Venice, Italy

Allie in Pisa, Italy 

Allie in Lake Como

Chi O in Chicago

My mom and I have always tried to go to a different place each summer and this year we went to Chicago! We had a whirl wind couple of days that made for the best vacation I’ve had in a while! We stayed in the Palmer House, which is one of the most beautiful and oldest hotels in Chicago. The weather there was gorgeous-perfect for shorts and all of my Chi O shirts-and all of the flowers were in bloom. I couldn’t go a block without seeing tulips lining the streets in all different colors. My mom and I tried to go to all of the tourist spots like the Willis Tower, Metallic Bean, and Shedd Aquarium. You can see the entire city from the Willis Tower on a clear day and they have decks built of strong glass that you can stand on and see through. We also walked the Millennium Mile, which is a mile long stretch of street lined on both sides with every store you can imagine. It certainly was a lot of fun to go shopping, even if it completely destroyed my pay check! Not to mention all of the food in the city, from the fourth best pizza place in the nation to Chinese food that was to die for. The best part of our trip was the Shedd Aquarium though. It was simply fantastic! They had every kind of animal you could imagine and interactive events. I love all of the seahorses and whales. Going to Chicago was definitely the highlight of my summer and I can’t wait to go back to school and share the experience with all my sisters!

Chi O love and mine,

Erin Moore

Erin at the Metallic Bean

Erin & her mom in Chicago