Julia Gibson
12/09/2021
Julia Gibson '22, a double major in accounting and business administration.
Bluffton accounting/business administration major excels during competitive internship
As one of seven interns chosen out hundreds of applicants, Julia Gibson ’22, a double major in accounting and business administration from New Carlisle, Ohio, immersed herself in a challenging learning experience at Speedway Corporate Headquarters in Enon, Ohio.
“Working with other people was the thing I learned most,” said Gibson, who completed the internship during summer 2021. “I learned how to interact with my coworkers in a professional way. That helped me a lot.”
While getting to know her supervisors and mentors, Gibson also found herself becoming more comfortable with public speaking. In fact, Speedway Headquarters required all interns (accounting, marketing and engineering) to take a public speaking class during the internship.
“It was a good learning experience because I didn’t really know what a corporate accountant does on a daily basis,” said Gibson. “I was grateful to see what my daily life would look like because its much different than what we do in my classes for accounting.”
Keying invoices, helping with reviews, looking over reports and creating journal entries were part of Gibson’s job description as an intern accountant. While different than class, Gibson was prepared for the work because of the practice she had writing journal entries in class.
Gibson’s home is about ten minutes from Speedway Headquarters. She remembers driving by the huge company often as a child and would envision herself working there one day. Gibson applied after getting an email about the opportunity from Jason Swartzlander, professor of accounting.
Now in her final year at Bluffton, Gibson is on the women’s soccer team, a member of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and an assistant in the business department.
“I have really liked my time at Bluffton because I’ve been able to build a relationships with my professors,” said Gibson. “The small community is why I chose Bluffton.”
Following graduation, Gibson is leaning towards getting an entry level position in accounting but is also considering pursuing her MBA.