Ashley is a senior finance major in the Leavey School of Business. She is currently an intern at Cisco through the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics’ Business Ethics Internship. This internship, which places students in ethics and compliance positions at local corporations, started last April and will conclude upon Ashley’s graduation in June 2016. She plans to pursue a career in ethics and compliance, hoping to focus on the legal side. We spoke with her about her experience in the internship so far.
What are you doing at your internship?
I have had the pleasure of working with a highly talented global team that has gone above and beyond to expose me to a variety of challenging and engaging internal investigations.
How have you been able to apply what you've learned at SCU to your internship?
Santa Clara has provided me with a strong academic and moral background that has proved to be really applicable through my internship.
What is something that you'd like to accomplish during this internship?
I’d really like to network as much as I can and gain exposure into various positions within the organization.
What surprised you most about working in ethics and compliance at a major company?
The different types of crimes employees engage in, along with the various means employers have in order to catch such instances of misconduct.
What is the hardest part about working in ethics and compliance?
I have to constantly remind myself to never jump to conclusions and to always give the individual under investigation the benefit of the doubt.
What is one thing that you have taken away from the internship so far?
The experience has really brought to life the inherent "gray area" of ethical decision-making and informed my understanding of the role of controls and culture in promoting responsible corporate citizenship, mitigating risk, and upholding a reputation of integrity in the minds of key stakeholders.
Working within the Compliance department has been deeply rewarding, offering me the opportunity to develop extensive networks within the legal and compliance community, refine my data analysis skills, and learn to effectively communicate with employees from a variety of functional and demographic backgrounds.