Alex Brosseau, BS Accounting completed an internship at Centene Corporation this summer. Here he answers some questions about his experience and talks about how the Webster University Career & Internship Fair helped him find his internship.
Q: What is Centene? How would you describe it to fellow students?
A: Centene’s business model is focused entirely on providing affordable healthcare. The business centers on finding cheaper and more effective ways to improve the health of their community ‘one person at a time.’ Centene is a large corporate conglomerate that’s growing rapidly- they’re balancing this growth with being connected and representative of the communities they’re in.
Q: What was your internship at Centene?
A: Internship- Financial Planning and Investments (FR&A.) I worked on budgeting.
Q: How did you hear about Centene?
A: Last summer, I worked at Southside Early Start in the accounting department. Southside provides childcare, family resources such as counseling, and English as a second language training. I knew about Centene because they were financial supporters of the center. I knew they gave back to their community and were good corporate citizens.
Q: How did this translate to an internship?
A: I met Centene recruiters at the Career Planning and Development Fall Internship Fair. The campus recruiters were very pleasant and they set up several interviews pretty quickly. After the interview call backs, I was able to choose from two internships.
Q: How was the internship program experience at Centene?
A: I was one of 100 interns, one of four from Webster University. The program was incredible. Every day I learned something, because the company made learning easy and available. There was also an awesome speaker series. Every week we would meet with a C-suite executive, such as the Director of Marketing. My biggest take away was seeing the pathways to those careers as visible and attainable. Also the intern class spent an evening in the Centene Cardinals Box.
Q: What is one takeaway you received from Centene?
A: I met all kinds of people. Coworkers can become your friends and they can make work fun. My co-workers had all sorts of interesting hobbies and they were happy to take me out to lunch. It was a great workplace culture.
Q: Would you recommend the Centene Internship Program?
A: I would highly recommend Centene to students. They can challenge you, teach you, and you will have tangible actions and items that you accomplish throughout the internship. I am an ambassador for the program at Webster University, which means I offer the student to student perspective anytime a recruiter is on campus.
Q: What are you involved in at Webster University?
A: I am the Accounting Club President, a Student Ambassador, member of Chain-link Improv, and play Ultimate Frisbee when I have the time.
Q: How did you apply what you have learned in college to the workplace?
A: Time management as a student is different, but transferable. When in the workplace, you work 8-5 and all of that time is spent working and thinking. But when you are finished with the day, you are done for the day.
Q: What does the future look like after graduation?
A: I have received an offer from Centene. I will give it a lot of consideration, but I also don’t want to make a final decision now.
