Alicia Underwood, a Bemidji State University senior accounting major, will be participating in an eight-week internship at KPMG.

KPMG is an audit, tax, and advisory firm, which is one of the Big Four Auditors along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and PwC. KPMG’s member firms have 145,000 professionals, including more than 8,000 partners, in 152 countries making it one of the largest professional service networks in the world.

Underwood, originally from Colton, SD, graduated from Washington High School in 2009 and came to Bemidji State in 2010 to major in math. She then switched to accounting after enrolling in an accounting course. Underwood enjoys fishing, painting, and biking and says she knew Bemidji State could be a match for her.

Christina Hegna, a West Coast KPMG auditor and Bemidji State alumna, returned to campus to visit Dr. Dave Massaglia, who teaches the Intermediate Accounting I course Underwood was taking in the Fall of 2011. Underwood says “We sent her our resumes and she forwarded them to a Minneapolis recruiter.”

“The day after Christina sent my resume, Amy Sundet, a KPMG recruiter, e-mailed me requesting more information,” Underwood continues. Underwood had a phone interview in December, followed by an in-person interview in February.

The eight-week internship begins June 14 with on-base training in Minneapolis, followed by the KPMG National Intern Training in Orlando, Florida from June 18-21.

“I am most excited about gaining professional experience in the field I hope to succeed in, and meeting a bunch of awesome people along the way,” Underwood says, “I want to do something meaningful in the accounting world. Hopefully this internship will let me know if that will be in auditing or not.”

SOUTH DAKOTA
Colton |57018| Alicia Underwood, accounting, senior