June 24, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Like usual, Caitlin Boland is awake at the crack of dawn preparing for what promises to be a long day. However, instead of 7 a.m. volleyball practice at McDonough Gym, the rising senior captain prepares for her daily journey into downtown Chicago for a 10-week internship at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a financial and professional services firm that specializes in real estate.
Monday through Friday, Boland takes a 45-minute train ride from her home in Naperville, Ill., a suburb west of Chicago, into the city with her father, Michael Boland, who also works downtown. After stepping off the train, it's another 25 to 30 minute walk to the office to complete the first half of her three-hour daily round-trip commute. But the extra time with her father has made it more bearable and even educational, as it has helped her gain a closer view into his daily routine.
"My dad has been commuting downtown for my entire life and experiencing it for myself made me realize how difficult that would be," Boland said. "It puts it in perspective any time I feel a little tired from the day as I am just doing this for a summer. I really enjoy commuting with him though; it definitely makes the commute easier to have some company. I get to hear more about his work than I have in the past which I enjoy. We usually sit together on the way in and read, but we have a 15 minute walk every day to his office before we split, that is a really nice time to talk and catch up."
"I know the commute gives Cait a different perspective on what goes on day to day with me and it's the part of the job you don't think about really - getting there and back," Caitlin's father adds. "I know I talk about work more with her now than I ever have with any of my kids. It's nice to have that time."
The commute has become more familiar for the opportunistic Caitlin, as she is in the midst of her second year as an intern for the firm that she found through an old connection.
"I have a friend from grade school and high school whose dad has worked at JLL for over 20 years," Boland said. "[Last year] he told her that they were starting a new intern program and were looking for applicants, and I was lucky to get in on the ground floor of their program. Following last summer I was extended an invitation to return and gladly accepted."
An accounting and financing double major in the Robert Emmet McDonough School of Business, her summer and a half at JLL has helped her earn valuable experience in a field she looks to spend more time in after college.
"I am working in the corporate finance group at JLL, so I get exposure to private accounting duties. It is also nice to get experience using different systems and programs. I have had the opportunity to shadow accountants and sit in on meetings which is helpful as well."
Her summer at JLL seems very much different than where she will be in early August when volleyball practice begins on the Hilltop. But for Boland, who is currently third in Georgetown history in career assists, with 2,214, she has been able to apply some of the same traits to her internship that have made her a successful student-athlete.
"Being a student athlete at Georgetown has helped me to work on time management, which is very helpful at work," Boland admitted. "There are times where I have more than one project going on and need to balance my time effectively. Volleyball was also helpful in adjusting to a work schedule. We wake up for 7 a.m. practices, so getting used to early mornings was easier on me. I think the experience of being a part of a team helps with any group work too."
As other students enjoy summer vacations filled with days by the pool and a rest from the busy academic year, Caitlin fills each day preparing for a life after Georgetown and volleyball. Though she does not dwell on lost free time, instead she makes the best of her summer in the real world.
"There are times when I think about how nice it would be to not have anything to do. Working and commuting definitely wear me out, but I think that I'm lucky to have gotten a great internship and the experience is well worth it and it makes me value my weekends all the more."
While Caitlin has had the opportunity to learn more about her father's daily life throughout the summer, Michael has had the same amount of time to help confirm his feelings of his daughter.
"Cait is a great daughter and an even better person: talented, focused, hard-working and caring -- a leader in every sense of the word," said Michael Boland. "I feel very proud as her dad, but also lucky that I have been able to see her bring those qualities not just to volleyball, but to school and now as she starts out, to her career."
