Hello everybody! My name is Will Speers, and I just finished up my second year at the University of Pittsburgh. I am now well under the anticipated 24 hour countdown for leaving Pittsburgh to fly into to Prague, which is surreal to be typing.
A little about me outside of the boring stuff: I was born and raised in Pittsburgh only about 15 minutes from campus, right by the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium. Consistently staying active is very important to me, both physically and mentally and always looking for new activities to try, new things to learn, and especially any music that I haven’t heard yet. Music is a HUGE part of my life and I almost am always listening to something – the Spotify wrapped numbers each year are alarming. I enjoy hanging out with my roommates and close-by friends, going to the gym, and watching any sports program that I can find on TV – Go Lers, Pens, and Bucs, in that order. I also love seeing any type of new architecture, which is particularly why I am excited for not only Prague, but Europe in general. The new, everyday environment is something that I believe will be life-changing, let alone the ability to see a ton of sites that I can’t wait to check out that are specific to Prague.
On the Academic side of things, I am majoring in Accounting and Business Analytics, but with a heavier focus on a career in Accounting. I picked up the dual major this semester, as I have enjoyed the coursework so far at Pitt and figured it would be very transferrable to rounding out my overall knowledge of different business systems and processes. I also spent a semester in the Fall with Panther Equity as a Junior Analyst, and was able to gain a lot of valuable information about different industrial companies and markets as a whole. My internship is not necessarily focused in either of the two majors, but I believe working and being immersed fully into a different culture’s business environment will be invaluable.
Professionally, I will be working a full-time Audit internship with RSM’s Pittsburgh office during the Spring semester next year while taking a part-time class schedule at Pitt, as well as an Audit internship for CLA’s Pittsburgh office over the summer. My ultimate goal is to complete the CPA exam eventually after graduating and work in public accounting.
In this coming 8 weeks, I will be working for Lucent Renewables, who is an independent developer of utility-scale solar PV and battery storage assets across Europe and select international markets. Their headquarters have actually just recently been moved to Prague in 2024, and I expect to be doing pipeline research as well as other financial tasks on the operational side of the company. I am thrilled and believe that this will be a life-changing opportunity to work on a team that is focused on a very important part of the future.
In terms of why I chose IIP at Pitt, I first of all have known since starting college that I wanted to go on some type of abroad experience. I specifically chose the IIP because of the timing in both my academic and professional career, as it allowed me to complete credits while also gaining an internship experience. I specifically chose Prague because my family on the maternal side is from the Czech Republic, who has played a huge role in my life. Also as previously mentioned, I believe I will really enjoy the scenery throughout the city and the surrounding towns that I can potentially visit.
In the next 8 weeks, I hope to see tons of different places, meet new people, and learn a ton about the different culture that exists both in and around Prague. Academically, although not directly tied to my major, I hope to still thrive as an abroad intern and be able to consistently learn about a new industry and basis of operation. Lastly, I think that this experience will drastically improve my ability to communicate and network in professional environments, as I will naturally have to learn how to adjust and connect in new ways.
I am excited to fill everyone in along the journey, see ya in Prague!