Hill has a long history of successful interns. For example, one of our former summer stars now runs a company valued at over three billion dollars. Fun fact, Hill is a client of the company our former intern created (a web-based people management tool)!

This summer, we have the privilege of working with not one but three impressive interns. They assist the team in various capacities, and we are so happy to have them support us. Please read below to learn about each one and their focus for the summer.

*from left to right*

BEN
I am a rising junior at WashU studying Economics & Strategy, and Finance, with a minor in Biology. I like to run and recently ran a half marathon. I enjoy listening to new music, especially electronic music, and going to concerts.

During the summer, I’m working on analyzing our minimum fee policy, preparing for our risk assessment, and updating compliance records.

JACK
I’m currently studying Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance at Mizzou. I’m excited to put my studies to practice this summer at HIG. Other than Finance, my hobbies include most outdoor activities. However, one of my more meaningful interests is participating in the annual collection drives for Friends of Kids with Cancer, where I am a member of their young professionals’ program.

This summer, I’m focusing on supporting the Client Service team by assisting with meeting prep, reporting, and helping the team research better tools to support our clients.

CHARLIE
I’m a rising senior at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. This past year, I had the unique opportunity to participate in an I-CORE Case Competition, which is a semester-long class divided into four sections: Marketing, Operations, Leadership, and Finance. I am very grateful for this experience, as it prepared me for my internship with HIG.

This summer, I’m working on evaluating reporting software, creating post-meeting summary reports, and supporting the Business Development and Marketing team with data cleanup and research.

“Rick, what are some interesting activities that others are doing that bring joy to their lives?” This is a question that many of my older clients often ask me. I suggest family vacations, volunteering at a charity, and being with your grandkids.

I would now like to recommend something that was never on my bucket list until COVID forced me to spend more time indoors – writing a book about my life!

This process started when my son gave me a Christmas gift in December 2021 called StoryWorth, a website that simplifies writing and publishing a book. Every week for 52 weeks, I received an email with a question. I then would answer that question. I could also eliminate their suggested questions and ask ones I felt were more relevant to me.

Below are some questions asked by StoryWorth:

–  Tell me about your parents and grandparents.

–  How is life different today compared to when you were a child?

–  How did you meet your wife?

–  What advice would you give to your children and grandchildren?

I added some of my own questions, such as:

–  Why was a trip to Russia on your bucket list?

–  What factors do you feel attributed to your long, continued marriage?

–  What is one of the scariest situations you’ve faced in your life?

You can add pictures throughout the stories. This motivated me to go through stacks of old photo albums, many of which were in black and white, of my parents, grandparents, and my younger self.

 My wife and two children were my editors. They added additional information and accuracy to my stories and added more pictures. The book is now 307 pages and includes many priceless photos.

Challenges of my experience:

• Takes time, especially for me, because I tend to write in bullet points, not paragraphs. However, there is no deadline to complete the book…it took me 18 months. The support group at StoryWorth was very helpful in answering my questions.

Benefits of writing a book:

• My grandkids and future generations will know more about my life stories, including several stories that were new to my wife and children,
• The book contains the “greatest hits” pictures rather than losing them somewhere in the basement or on someone’s iPhone,
• Immense personal satisfaction from having written a book.

My takeaway:

I wish my parents and grandparents had written a book about their lives and advice for me and future generations. Now, with current technology, writing a book is much easier. Being older is an opportune time to tell one’s life stories while we still remember them. This is also a perfect gift for parents and grandparents. If you want information on writing a book using StoryWorth, I would be glad to talk with you!

It’s no secret we love Morgan Housel. We reference him time and time again because everything he says is spot on. If you don’t know, he has a new podcast and we’re enjoying hearing Morgan every bit as much as we love reading him. In the episode “The Power of Staying Put,” Morgan says, “There are so many times in life where what you do is less important than how long you’ve been doing it for.” It sounds a lot like taking the long view.

Listen here.