Intern Spotlight Series - Ronik Patel

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and background?
My name is Ronik Patel and I am a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh studying Finance and Economics with a certificate in leadership & ethics. Outside of school, I am involved in my business fraternity, Panther Equity, and the JLL Real Estate Finance Academy. Before GTE, I actually worked as a Finance/Accounting Intern within the business department of Pitt Athletics. Having that experience my freshman year enabled me to decide that business was the right path for me. 

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How did you hear about GTE, why did you want to work at GTE?

I first heard about GTE from a past intern, Jake Werth, who had the internship while I was a freshman. Hearing about how educational and beneficial the internship was for him made me want to give it a shot and apply. Additionally, the idea of getting experience in Private Equity at such an early stage in my professional career is why I applied for the internship. Learning about the opportunities through the GTE educational series and guest speakers made me realize how much I would learn from this internship. In the end, I am glad I was given the opportunity to work as an intern for the firm. 

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Can you briefly talk about your time at GTE?

Although I have only been working at GTE for a few weeks so far, I have already gained so much first-hand experience. Upon coming into the internship, my knowledge on search funds was miniscule. However, within the first few weeks, I have learned the basics of what to look for when a searcher is acquiring a company and have even gotten the opportunity to review and analyze confidential information memorandum (CIMs). I even got the opportunity to formulate a list of searchers through GTE’s CRM platform. Overall, this internship has been so beneficial to my professional thus far and I encourage other driven students to apply to this internship. 

‍What is some advice you would give to future interns?
The most valuable piece of advice I can give to future interns is to put your best effort forth throughout the entirety of the internship and to not be afraid to ask questions. In other words, whatever you put into the internship is what you are going to get out of it. If you take it seriously and try to take in as much information as possible, I can guarantee it is going to be more of a rewarding experience. When coming into the internship, I was a little afraid of asking questions because I did not want them to sound half witted. What I learned is that asking questions will only help you better understand topics presented. Also, GT Entrepreneurs does a great job in making the work space feel inclusive so that you are able to attain the most out of the internship.