A Day in the Life of an Arc Aspicio Intern
Arc Aspicio’s paid internship program offers college students the opportunity to gain meaningful experience working in homeland security and intelligence. Our interns are valuable members of the Arc Aspicio team and are trusted with work that prepares them for life after graduation. Since the start of the program, many interns have joined the firm as full-time employees after graduation.
My alarm goes off at 7:30, and I jump out of bed knowing I have a busy day ahead of me. I leave my apartment at 7:55 and head to the bus stop. I make it to the Arc Aspicio office by 8:20, giving me enough time to grab a quick coffee before arriving to my desk at 8:30. While my laptop turns on, I do the standard office check to make sure everything is in order to start the day: open our offices, verify all office equipment is well-stocked and functioning, and sort and distribute mail received. I then return to my laptop and check my e-mail and calendar. I have a handful of emails that need a response and a phone interview scheduled for 9:30.
At Arc Aspicio, employees play a vital role in the recruitment process. From the initial phone screen to the in-person interview, everyone from the interns to the executives gets involved. As an intern, I am one of the points of contact for candidates and help to manage the phone and in-person interview schedule.
By 9:15, I have gone through the recruiting pipeline and have some time to prepare for my phone screen with an intern candidate. Before I started working as an intern for Arc Aspicio, I had very limited knowledge of the consulting industry. I relied on the support of another intern and two Junior Consultants who previously worked as interns to quickly get up to speed. I look forward to adding the next intern to the team so I can welcome and mentor them, as I was when I joined. Arc Aspicio has a collaborative environment in which all employees work together to achieve the best results for our clients.
The phone screen ends at 10. I start working on the final touches to the Arc Aspicio Homeland Security Newsletter. Our bi-weekly newsletter features the latest homeland security news stories and blog postings. With almost 3,000 subscribers, our newsletter is read in more than 14 countries by our government clients, business partners, and employees. After adding a few more articles, the newsletter is ready for a final review by an executive before getting published tomorrow morning.
By a quarter to 11, I have a chance to update our website with a press release announcing that Arc Aspicio was named to Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies for its 5th consecutive year. I drafted the release in collaboration with our CEO, Lynn Ann Casey. Our organization offers our clients and employees open access to the leadership team, encouraging collaboration and teamwork.
After updating our website, I take a quick lunch break and am back at my desk at 12:05. I have two hours before my afternoon class and still need to complete a handful of tasks from my to-do list. First up is contract filing: making sure our contracts are filed correctly in hard copy and on our shared knowledge hub, Initio. Initio brings together all aspects of Arc Aspicio into one organized platform where employees can manage, integrate, and share functional and mission knowledge. Initio also allows our employees to stay ahead of emerging trends and innovations in the homeland security field.
Before finishing up for class, I get the office ready for the other intern, who will be in the office tomorrow. This consists of another check of our recruiting pipeline to answer candidate questions and schedule new interviews. I also prepare several interview packets ahead of tomorrow’s in-person interviews.
Before heading out, I check-in with the New Business team and our CEO to see if they need assistance with any other tasks for the rest of the afternoon. Arc Aspicio interns are involved in almost every aspect of the business development lifecycle and have the opportunity to help with Requests for Information (RFIs), Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and proposal review teams. Over the summer, I learned a lot about new business while working in the office full-time and gained lots of valuable experience.
I spend a couple of minutes chatting with my supervisor about my day and what my calendar looks like next time I’m in the office. By 2:00, I have signed my timesheet and am ready to leave for class. My day is not nearly over as I have an 80-minute class and an hour and a half to cook an early dinner before several meetings on campus and club volleyball practice later at night. I’m looking forward to my next day back in the office!
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