Cheyenne George arrived at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa as a highly-recruited softball player but an injury changed her path. Now Cheyenne focuses on working a full-time job, completing an accounting internship, and managing a full load of courses.
NOC Business Management major, Cheyenne George, is completing an internship this semester at Quality Water in Ponca City. Cheyenne contacts customers with delinquent accounts and balances multiple company checkbooks. She also creates month-end reports for inventory and bank reconciliations.
Cheyenne says the internship has opened the door to learning new information that is used in “real life accounting.” The work she has completed during her internship has brought to life what she had learned in previous and current coursework.
George credits the internship experience with providing an extended learning platform. She said the work experience has provided “insight into hands-on financial experience and how accounting benefits the company.” Work she has completed during the internship has allowed Cheyenne to become more familiar with every aspect of the company.
Interning at Quality Water has given Cheyenne the connection between her coursework and real world application. Cheyenne said she has enjoyed “having that ‘Aha, that’s what the book meant!’ moment.”
Cheyenne credits her supervisor at Quality Water, Lacy Harris, with being more than a boss. She said, “Lacy is an exceptional leader who promotes a strong skills set so I know I will be better in the future.”
Cheyenne plans to graduate in the spring and pursue a career in the accounting field. She wants to further her accounting knowledge through hands-on experience.
The NOC Business department has placed over 30 students in internships over the past 10 years. Cara Beth Johnson, division chair said, “We believe experiential learning opportunities provide a meaningful ‘win-win’ situation for both the student and the company. Students gain valuable practical experience and networking options through their professional mentors. Companies may learn new and creative ways of operating by using the cutting-edge academic knowledge of the interns.”
If your company would like to provide an internship for an NOC student, please call Dr. Rae Ann Kruse at 580.628.6341.