downloadCollege life is often synonymous with a summer job. You study hard throughout the year and when June rolls around, suddenly the quest for a summer job is your first priority. The fight to win the job you want can be brutal. You can anticipate that more than just a few races to submit an application will inevitably occur before you find the right match.

All said and done, working in a professional environment over the course of the summer months is nothing new to me.

In the past I’ve had full-time jobs, worked as a volunteer, and was an intern at another CPA firm. Before my first day at Delap, I was expecting this summer to be filled with mindless tasks that everyone wanted to pawn off to the interns - to be the nameless, faceless intern who was young, inexperienced and like a fish out of water.

But from the moment I met some of the Delap team members, even before I stepped one foot into the office, I knew that this firm was different. In the interviews, partners were of course interested in my experience and skills. But, before they proceeded to ask me even one question about my past work, they wanted to get to know me as person. They asked me questions about my family, about my plans for the future outside of work, and about what kinds of things I was interested in.

When the question came up asking where I saw myself in five or ten years, I could easily and honestly answer that I saw myself working at a firm just like this one. Even then it was clear that a main purpose of the interview was to not only find a competent worker, but someone that would also fit into the firm culture.

Here at Delap they view me as an investment in their future, not just a summer intern.

I feel like I have a place here. I’m starting to learn names and faces; it helps that people stop in and say good morning. The work I’m doing isn’t just busy work for the sake of keeping the interns busy. I’ve been here only a few days and I feel valued. A couple days in and I can already tell there’s something pretty special about this firm.

Delap LLP is one of Portland’s largest local tax, audit, and consulting accounting firms, located in Lake Oswego, Oregon.