…and what we get out of it too.
Each summer, we bring in a couple of students for a hands-on internship at Sentio. It’s a chance for them to get stuck into real work, see what corporate finance actually looks like from the inside, and hopefully leave with a clearer sense of what they want to do next.
But it’s not just about giving students a foot in the door. We do it because it brings something to us, too. Our interns ask good questions. They remind us to explain the why behind the what. And they bring a different kind of energy to the office.
This summer, we were joined by Raj and Navya, two brilliant students from the University of Leeds. Here are a few things they said that stuck with us.
“It’s not just numbers on a spreadsheet”
Navya came in expecting M&A to be all about the technical side. What stood out most to her was the human part:
“It’s about preserving clients’ legacies on the sell-side and ensuring buy-side acquisitions benefit all stakeholders, not just profit. Behind every deal are real people with genuine concerns about their life’s work and what happens next.”
Raj felt the same. He expected it to be intense (and it was), but didn’t realise how collaborative the work would be:
“Real deals take time. They evolve. They rely on people working closely together to get them right.”
From research to real contribution
During their time with us, both Raj and Navya worked on live projects from researching markets, pulling together buyer lists, analysing data, and writing sections of marketing materials. Some days they’ll be deep in Excel, others they might be contributing to a team meeting or refining slides for a client presentation.
Raj spoke about a comparative company analysis he worked on. The first version didn’t quite land and he received feedback that pushed him to go again:
“That experience taught me that feedback isn’t a setback, it’s a stepping stone.”
Navya talked about the commercial awareness she gained:
“Under Joe and Brooke’s guidance, I developed a completely different mindset. It’s all about perspective, and the one from Sentio gives you a panorama.”
So what now?
Raj heads back to uni to complete his second year and Navya’s taking on an NHS placement to build the kind of foundational skills she knows she’ll bring back to the industry.
And for us? It’s easy to focus on experience but sometimes, the most valuable thing in the room is a fresh perspective and a good question.
We’re really glad they chose to spend their summer with us.
