By Julia Hess '15
Alexander Volpi '16 brought his Education of a Lifetime to the big leagues this summer during his second internship with the New York Mets organization.
In the fall of 2013 Volpi was scrolling through Twitter when he came across a post about internship opportunities for the upcoming summer with the New York Mets. Volpi, being a longtime fan of the team, jumped at the opportunity to have a hand in the organization. He was offered an accounting position for the 2014 internship class, and after doing well that summer, was invited back for the summer of 2015.
"I believe it is important to get real world experience before graduating because it makes you a lot more marketable to empolyers once you start looking for a job after school. You learn what goes on, how people interact with dealing with issues and what gets done to resolve the problem and keep the operation as smooth as possible," said Volpi. "Most importantly, you learn whether or not you like the field you chose."
Luckily for Volpi, he loves the field he's working in. As a member of the Mets' accounting department, he takes on tasks such as financial reporting, assisting with the administration of corporate credit card programs, forecasting and budget preparations.
Volpi believes that educating yourself through real-world experiences is vital, something he learned from former Director of Master Accounting, Eugene J. Farley, "He was very successful in the business world for over 30 years and was able to easily relate what we were doing in class to the real world, which particularly benefited me. Concepts were easier to grasp for me that way."
On top of learning about the world of finance, Volpie has also been able to pick the brains of many top players in the organization such as Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon, General Manager Sandy Alderson and other senior and executive vice presidents of the organization. Volpi says opportunities like this made him feel like a valuable part of the team.
"I had my own responsibilities that needed to be done and done well. I wasn't getting coffee for people or making copies all day. I never missed a day, but if I did, I feel like I would have been missed," said Volpi. "This summer, we had someone leave within the department and I was able to pick up a lot of the work to lessen the load on everyone else."
The New York Mets organization has taken Volpi's favorite sport from a pastime to a career passion and his love for the game of baseball is stronger than ever.
