Internship leads to full-time job for Lake Campus student

Payton Jutte, an organizational leadership major at Wright State’s Lake Campus, received valuable hands-on experience interning with Northwestern Mutual Life.

Payton Jutte, an organizational leadership major at Wright State University-Lake Campus, recently completed an internship with Northwestern Mutual Life.

Before coming to the Lake Campus, Jutte played basketball at Urbana University and Thomas More College. Eventually, injuries ended his basketball career, and the Fort Recovery native decided to go to college closer to home.

Jutte began searching for an internship at the end of his junior year and Northwestern Mutual Life seemed like the best fit.

“They’ve had a top-rated internship program for years, and I really liked all of the first-hand experience I got in the field,” he said. “It wasn’t just a fetch coffee and make copies internship. You really are in the field every single day.”

He said his desire to help people led him to choose a career in finance and that he had learned, among other things, it is never too early to start planning for retirement.

“There is no set amount that you need to start with and you should definitely start saving as early as possible. I find it disheartening that many people retire with only $30,000 to $40,000, which is often only 30 to 40 percent of their income,” he said. “You are never too young to start putting money aside. Even if it’s a very small amount, it can make an unbelievable difference just with the compounding that happens over time.”

At the beginning of the internship, Jutte received a lot of valuable training and time with professional financial advisors. Eventually, he was able to go out and meet with clients on his own. He said that one of the moments that gave him a real sense of accomplishment was signing his first client as an intern.

Jutte currently has over 20 clients. After his internship, Northwestern not only asked Jutte to stay on through his senior year, the company offered him full-time employment as a financial advisor after graduation.

“When I started this internship, I never imagined I would be developing professional relationships and end up having the trust of well-respected members of the community as an intern,” he said.

He recommends that students seek internships to get a leg up in their field and to experience a trial run for what to expect when they enter the workforce.

He said that researching companies and what they have to offer their interns is key to finding the right match. He also recommends students not put all their eggs in one basket and, if possible, apply for multiple internships that offer the experiences and training they desire.

“You’re not locked into anything yet, but you can get a good feel for what it will be like,” he said. “Everyone I spoke to (at Northwestern) who hadn’t started there as an intern said that they wished they had because of earlier start and great training.”