The Future is Now for UNK Student Omar Sanchez

Omar Sanchez is proof that internships are a valuable part of college life. As a College of Business and Technology student who will be graduating with a double emphasis in accounting and finance, he credits his professors, his advisor, and the opportunities he has had through internships with the bright future that awaits him after he turns his tassel. 

Thanks to the experiential learning that has helped him learn more than just content in his classes, Sanchez realizes he is more than prepared to start his profession. In fact, he has already received a full-time job offer from Eide Bailly where he recently interned. He also credits his advisor, Dr. Brenda Eschenbrenner, for his success. He states that he owes a lot to her because after sharing the Eide Bailly internship opportunity with him, she “went out of her way” to secure him a spot.

His experience at the company’s Summer Leadership Day was something he’ll never forget. He remembers how they “talked about leadership” to include different kinds of ways to become a leader. He is grateful that he “learned a lot that day.” The mock interviews went well and soon he had the opportunity to talk to Tony Eitzmann, a CPA who is an audit partner at Eide Bailly. Sanchez says this conversation “went well” and he was later called back with an offer for an internship.

Sanchez states that when he received the call for the internship opportunity, he immediately accepted. He reflects on the way his Summer Leadership Day ended with everyone pitching in to provide community service to a local women’s shelter. It was an easy decision for him to sign up for the internship program because he felt the “culture was outstanding” at Eide Bailly and knew it was the type of place he would want to be involved with when he started working full-time. 

He shares that the internship “ended up working out extremely well” as he “got offered a full-time spot there.” While there, he spent time working on the auditing side, a skill he credits his UNK professors for developing in him. He can’t say enough about Dr. Eschenbrenner who he describes as someone who has “helped (him) a lot.” Not only did she work tirelessly as his advisor when she “put (his) name out there,” he explains how she makes her classes come alive by inviting guest speakers such as Eide Bailly’s Tony Eitzmann to her class. 

Other professors are responsible for preparing Sanchez for his career as well. Dr. Matt Bjornsen and Dr. Sarah Borchers, both accounting professors, hosted a trip to Omaha for their students. On this trip, where Sanchez visited companies including Eide Bailly, he realized how valuable it was to witness firsthand what his professors had been teaching in class. Sanchez realized on this trip that what he was doing in the classroom would be applicable to what he would do in his profession. He shares how “a lot that (he saw) in the classroom” was mirrored in what he was seeing in these companies.

Whether during an internship or when he starts working full time, he feels better prepared because of the way his professors choose to not teach “out of the textbook” and how they work hard to make their classes as real as the industry they are teaching about. Currently, Sanchez is taking a class that implements real-world data that he analyzes with various software. Thanks to his internship, he was already familiar with some of that software because of his work at Eide Bailly.

Sanchez understands how much he has been given as a UNK college student. He knows the importance of giving back. When Eide Bailly asked him to work their table at the Accounting Finance Career Fair, he was quick to agree. He had the opportunity to speak to many students, sharing his enthusiasm while encouraging them to experience as much as possible before graduation. He gave away what he has been given by so many at UNK, sharing how much he appreciates the instructors who have poured into his life.

UNK professors have a lot to say about Sanchez too. According to Landon Lueshen, who is an accounting and management lecturer at the College of Business and Technology, Sanchez is “a very smart, energetic, and positive student that is always engaged” and someone who “asked questions when needed, answered questions that (were) discussed, and worked well in groups.” Lueshen goes on to share how he “really enjoyed (Sanchez’s) perspective and the energy he brought to class.” Dr. Bjornsen shares that based on his experience with Sanchez, he has “no doubt that he will go on to have a very successful career.” 

For Omar Sanchez, who grew up in Nebraska and will be staying close to home after college thanks to Eide Bailly’s job offer, this opportunity never would have happened without the dedication of so many who went above and beyond to offer their help. That’s the culture of the College of Business and Technology, where, thanks to the compassion, dedication, and hard work of the faculty and staff, students are able to have their future dreams come true now.