Hello! My name is Elise Briody and I am a rising senior at Tulane, pursuing a BSM in Legal Studies in Business with a minor in Finance. This past academic year, I helped found Women in Pre Law, an organization focused on the advancement of women and gender minorities in the legal field, and I will serve as Vice President for the upcoming school year. I have a wide variety of legal interests, which I get to explore through opportunities presented to me via my organization and legal studies courses. However, I am especially excited to delve into securities law while working with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC.
The Office of the Secretary’s main responsibility is archiving all communications with the Commission and maintaining records of Commission actions. This internship is a perfect way for me to learn how the SEC functions as a whole. While I don’t know my exact duties as an intern just yet, I expect to be very busy, as interns are given similar work to entry level employees.
My five learning objectives for this internship are as follows:
- Continue to hone my skills useful in an office setting, specifically Excel and legal research skills.
- Deeply understand how the Securities and Exchange Commission functions as a whole.
- Develop a practical knowledge of financial regulation and finance in general.
- Learn how such a large organization functions and what it means to work in an office larger than 50 employees.
- Learn how to work as an attorney outside of litigation.
I know the combination of high expectations and opportunity to take initiative will encourage development of my leadership skills while I am at the office. After completing this program, I can translate the learned skills to my leadership positions at Tulane and my future career path. I will gain a new perspective on the role of women in finance and law, which I value as both fields (especially finance) are typically male-dominated.
As I mentioned, I’m very excited to live in DC. I’ve only been once – above is a photo I took in Union Station – little did I know then I’d be spending so much time there this summer! The SEC is located practically in Union Station. For me, the highlight of this internship is the mentorship program is the mentorship program run by the Women’s Committee. I will connect with a mentor with similar interests, and with whom I can stay in contact with after the program ends. I appreciate that the Women’s Committee at the SEC specifically recognized the value of forming mentor relationships early in one’s career. Having a concrete role model in my chosen fields of interest, finance and law, is very important to me.
My internship starts in just two weeks! As the start date draws near, I am preparing to move back to New York and then DC just a few days later. I plan on catching up on my self-interest reading – I have a few Finance and Econ books I’m excited about, as well as one on dark matter. I’ve been watching videos on Excel tricks, so I can quickly and easily complete my tasks this summer, and I’ve been keeping an eye out for any news relating to the SEC. I can’t wait to see where this internship takes me, and I’m so excited for all that I will learn this summer!