Hockey’s Hendrickson ’21 optimizes an internship

Ingrid Peterson

Ingrid Peterson, director of the Saint Michael’s College Career Education Center, says Purple Knights senior hockey varsity player Ethan Hendrickson ’21 is a strong example of a student making the most of an internship experience through the College’s Career Education Center. Ingrid briefly shares her side of the story here, followed by her conversation with Ethan about his:

“I have known Ethan for two years,” says Ingrid. “He has taken full advantage of the career coaching that we provide to students and has benefited from his motivation to succeed in his preparation for securing an internship and ultimately, a job. He will be successful because he capitalizes on the opportunities available to him. I encourage all students to do the same and they can start by making an appointment with a Career Coach in Handshake.”

Conversation with Ethan Hendrickson’ 21:

Ethan Hendrickson ’21

Where are you from?

Budd Lake, New Jersey

 How did you end up at SMC?

I was recruited to play ice hockey here at Saint Michael’s College

 How did you land your internship?

The key to landing this internship was networking, patience, and a common connection through ice hockey. During the fall of my junior year, my adviser and Professor Paul Olsen for my major in economics recommended I connect with one of his friends, Riley Dickie. Proceeding to connect with Riley through LinkedIn, I was able to establish a good relationship after multiple interactions and connecting through hockey, as Riley finished up his playing career at Middlebury. While we were originally planning for me to do my internship with Faraday, Inc., in Burlington during the summer of 2020 internship, Faraday had to push my start date to this fall because of Covid-19.

 Tell me about your internship?

Faraday was founded in 2012 as a startup by three partners, Andy Rossmeissel (CEO), Seamus Abshere (CTO), and Robbie Adler (CSO). The company is located in the historic Maltex Building in beautiful Burlington, Vermont. Faraday has seen much of its growth recently, doubling in size over the last three years.  Faraday predicts consumer behaviors for brands seeking an edge, letting you work smarter by bringing data science out of the lab and into the real world. The Faraday platform includes everything you need to be your own data scientist, from integrations and consumer data to automated machine learning and model deployment capabilities. The company works with clients in various industries such as e-commerce, finance, and energy, to help optimize marketing and sales efforts to drive revenue growth, including acquisition and retention.

The internship is fully virtual, and my schedule consists of Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. for a total of nine hours a week. My Marketing Manager Perry McDermott and I have a strong relationship in which he trusts me to deliver on projects. Responsibilities involve synthesizing and reporting market research and competitive intelligence, data management including the integration of CRM and market analysis to help optimize customer focus and pull through.

 How has being a varsity athlete helped you work toward your career goals?

Being a varsity athlete has helped prepare for my career goals in many ways, but the two that have shaped me the most are time management, and training to be the hardest worker in the room.  As to the first of those, I excel at time management.  As a varsity athlete, I must manage my time effectively. From school days onward, the name of the game for me has always been to balance academic work and athletic commitments, along with spending time with family and friends. Over the year this has led to the development of time-management strategies and techniques that translate well into the working world. Regarding the second thing I mentioned — training to be the hardest worker in the room – here’s what I mean: Athletes know what’s expected of them. From team to team and from locker-room to locker-room, I have grown up in an environment where you either worked hard to keep your spot, or you worked harder to take someone else’s. That’s just the nature of competitive sports. It has taught me to be relentless when it comes to not letting people down and striving to be the hardest worker.

How has your internship helped you work toward your career goals?

Faraday has helped me work toward my career goals by allowing me to explore a career path exposed in the new world of using data and machine-learning to analyze customer’s behaviors. I have been able to develop and refine skills for the workforce. It has also given me an edge in the job market because of the networking and internship experience. I have gained confidence and it has allowed me to find comfort in uncomfortable situations.

How has the Career Education Center helped you throughout your college career?

The Career Education Center has helped me in many ways. From helping me with resume tips, LinkedIn, mock interviews, and moral support, I could not ask more from the team. One thing that I have been working on over the last month is my interview skills. I’m a firm believer in “practice makes perfect.” One thing I’ve struggled with is interviewing. The mock interviews provided by the Career Education Center have been great practice for future interviews, breaking down the good and the bad.