Elizabethtown College senior Charlie Carberry has an internship with Glatfelter Insurance Group in York, Pa. This company is an insurance company that mostly works with nonprofits such as religious buildings, volunteer fire stations and places for hospice and senior living assistance. Carberry found out about this internship opportunity through an emailed newsletter containing information on English-related internships. Because Carberry is an English major with a minor in creative writing and marketing, they looked for an internship that revolved around an English major subject while lasting for the summer. However, the project that they were working on was too large, and the head of the Underwriting Department, the department that they were working under, offered them a position to continue working during the fall and spring semesters, along with a possible job after Carberry graduates.
Carberry works in a part-time position at Glatfelter Insurance Group Wednesday-Monday from 8 a.m. -12:30 p.m. where they are positioned in the Underwriting Department. In this department, they are responsible for editing, organizing and rewriting the Underwriting Guidelines. They are mostly working with the healthcare department where they must sort through information regarding guidelines that are split into sections, such as auto crime or property, which are then categorized by hospice, senior living admitted and senior living non-admitted. Carberry said that their day-to-day life at this internship typically includes sorting through documents, comparing them and taking the relevant and edited information to compile into a master document so that other underwriters no longer must transfer between as many documents to access the information. Carberry said, “Basically I’ve gone through hundreds of documents at this point, putting the info into one organized and easily accessible and readable document.”
When I asked Carberry about what they liked the most about this internship, they said that the environment of the office is one of the best parts. More specifically, all the other people working there are very kind and helpful, coworkers will stop at each other’s desks to talk and help each other out on projects. Carberry stated, “I love the environment of the office! Everyone there is so kind, friendly, and helpful, especially my supervisor Stephanie! She taught me so much about the insurance industry and has really been an incredible mentor.” Carberry also said that something they like about the internship is that on Monday and Friday, the office tends to be quiet and the people that do come in are typically close with each other.
Out of everything regarding this internship, one thing Carberry said that they would change is that it is stressful to manage going to the internship in York and then going to school in Elizabethtown, which is almost an hour commute, so they wish it was a bit closer to the school. However, they also mentioned that their manager has been extremely helpful in working with Carberry, their schedule and stress levels so that they can always do their best work in both school and during their internship.
As a closing statement, Carberry said that they use their professional writing and marketing skills the most, however they also get to use their creative skills and eye to make sure the master document looks good and is easily readable.
