1. Sunrise Banks Management Internship 2015 Part II
Patrick Moynagh
The endingtomy managementinternshipatSunrise Banksisright onthe horizon. I have really
done a lotof interestingandfunthingswiththisbankover the past 12 weeks. Ihave 2 more weeks
afterthat inwhichI will be doingthingstoconclude myinternshipandrefreshonthingsIhave learned
overmy time here. Ihave continuedmyworkwiththe Audit,MarketingandHR teamand Joel (my
supervisorandHR Director) andI have addedsome shadowingandinterviewingtohelpintroduce me to
all the departmentsinthe bank. It has beena greatexperience andone thatI will take withme for
manyyears to come.
The firsteditionof mymanagementtrainingconsistedof me reading“Leadership&the One
Minute Manager.” Thisbookwas reallyhelpful inshowingthe readerwaystomanage differenttypesof
people indifferentandalwayschangingscenarios. The booktalkedabouteithermanagingwitha
directive ora supportive styledependingonthe personandthe situation. Italsotalkedaboutsetting
SMART (Specific,Measurable,Attainable,Relevant,Trackable) goals, developingcommitmentand
confidence,diagnosingdevelopmentlevels,andwhichleadershipstylestoimplement dependingon
those developmentlevelsof youremployees. Itwasa shortbookbut one that wasinformative and
consistedof bigpicture ideasthatgotto the pointquicklyandeffectively. Ihave since finishedreading
thisbookand have begunto readanotherbookto helpimprove uponmycritical thinkingskillscalled“A
Whack on the Side of the Head.” From whatI have readso far, the booktalksabout “mental locks”or
attitudesthatkeepyourbraininthe statusquoand waysto openthese locksandlookat thingsina
differentlight. Itcomesfroma man’spersonal experiencesandthe bookseemstobe reallyhandson
within-bookquestionsandpicturesthatmake youthinkoutside the box. Bothare booksthatare really
interestingtoreadand have some educatedthoughtsonwaystomanage andto think aboutdifferent
thingsinavenuesIneverthoughtpossible.
Again,Ihave continuedmyworkwiththe auditteam andtheytendto keepme extremelybusy.
There are somany thingsthatyou have to be aware of and knowledgeable aboutall acrossthe bank
withaudit. I have overseenandrevieweddocumentsfromvariousdepartmentssuchasaccounting,
loanops,depositservices,lending,aswellascredit. More specificallyandrecentlyIhave reviewedICS
and CDARSsweeps,wire transfers,andreviewedpartsof the online bankingsystem. Workingwiththe
auditteamhas helpedmake me more detail orientedbecause,asanauditor,youare responsible for
findingtinymistakesfromdepartments anddocuments acrossthe bank. It has alsohelpedme be more
familiarwithbankingingeneralaswell asthe differentstrategiesthe bankusestostaycompliantwith
several regulations. Ontopof the auditstuff,I have continuedtakingnotesforthe Riskteamintheir
EOS (Entrepreneurial OperatingSystem) meetingsandlearningaboutwaysinwhichthe bankmuststay
incompliance withregulationssetbythe OCC,FDIC,etc. Auditworkhasbeena positive experience
withinmyinternshipbyhelpingme be more aware of tinydetailsorverbiage containedin
documentation.

2. I have alsocontinuedmyworkwiththe Marketingand HR teams. Withmarketing,Ihave been
taskedwithmiscellaneousthingsthatpertaintoadvertising,eventplanning,communityresearch,and
developingthe internal companywebsite. AtSunrise,we like toshow appreciationtoourcustomers
and do thisina more meaningful waythansendingacard,the marketingteamandI have developed
and setup customerappreciationdays. Atthe event,customerscome tothe bankto enjoygrill food
and beveragesandgettotalk to the bankersaboutexistingbusiness. Theyare greateventsthathelp
bringthe bank and the communityclosertogether. Iam continuingmyworkondevelopingastrategy
to bestleverage ourBestPlacesToWork award. I have done researchon the TwinCities community
and communitiesacrossthe country,taskedonfindingareaswhichare distressedwhere the bankcan
do businesswithinthesecommunitiestohelpwiththeirgrowth. Iamalsoin charge of comingup with
famousquotesandfunpollsforemployeestoview onthe internal companywebsite. Iamalso working
closelywiththe Directorof HR where we strive tofindabetterworkenvironmentforemployeesacross
the organization. He has alsoposedasmy mentorthroughoutthe internshipprocessandwe meet
weekly one onone totalkabout managementstrategies,organizational structure,the booksIhave
beenreading,aswell asanyquestionsIhave forhimin developingmycareeras a businessperson. He
has beeninstrumental inmypathto becominganindependentknowledge worker.
Finally,probablythe biggestpartof myinternshipatthispointhasbeenshadowingall of the
departmentsinthe bankas well asinterviewingthe managerof those respective departments. Sofar,I
have shadowedPrepaid,Credit,IS/IT,DepositServices,Finance,RelationshipBanking,Branch
Management,Lenders,BBA’s,Tellersandthe BankPresident. Thisprocesshasconsistedof me first
interviewingthe managersof eachof these teamsandlearningmore abouttheirmanagement
philosophiesaswell ashowtheirdepartmentisrun. Followingthe managerinterview,Iwasprivileged
withsittingdownwiththe actual workerstosee whattheydo day-to-day. Igetto see whattheyare
workingonand howthey keeptrack of theirwork. It has beeninterestingtosee how all of the
departmentshave tointer-mingle andworktogetherinordertocomplete organizational goals. Each
personhasa role withinthe bankand eachand everyone of themis countedonto complete theirwork
inan efficientandeffective manner. Ontopof this,whenlookingatsome of the documentsthe
employeesare workingon,Ihave beenable toconnectsome of the work I have beenreviewingwi ththe
auditteam. Aftera dive into a couple of these departments ata time,Iwouldcircle backto Joel on
thingsI have learnedandthe differentmanagementstrategieseachof the separate managershave
beenimplementing. He thenshootsme back advice andexpertiseaboutthingsIshouldpaycloser
attentiontoand otherwaysI can increase the rate at whichIam learningfromthese departments. This
will be the majorityof mylasttwo weekshere atthe bankand I will continue workingcloselywithJoel
to learnas much as possible inmylastinternshipincollege.
Overall,Iam extremelyhappythatIchose to workat Sunrise Banksformysummerinternship. I
got to workwithso manyknowledgeable andgenuinelykindpeople,andtheirphilosophiesand
attitudesare traitsI will tryto take withme as I continue movingforwardinmycareer. I have learned
so muchin my time here sofar andI plan onmakingthe most of everythingmy final twoweekshasto
offer.