Cottingham & Butler

Very grateful for an incredible summer interning at Cottingham & Butler! A huge thank you to my amazing mentor Jared Lekar for being so passionate about the development of my project and pushing me towards further personal and professional growth. Also much thanks to Kelsey Streinz for her continued support and encouragement as well. It has been an absolute joy to work with the Risk Management team and to spend my summer with an amazing group of interns! Cottingham & Butler is a truly special company with the most collaborative, intelligent, and dedicated team members. I look forward to working for C&B part-time throughout the school year to continue further building out my project. I’m also excited to share that I will be returning to C&B next summer as an Analytics Intern as I go into my final year of school getting my Masters in Finance!

As my Summer 2024 Benefits Internship comes to a close, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Cottingham & Butler for providing an internship experience that exceeded my expectations in every way. The company's commitment to intern development is unparalleled, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been a part of it. From the comprehensive training to the real-world projects, every aspect of the internship was designed to push me beyond my limits. I’m especially grateful to Sara G. Dickinson and James Ottavi, my mentors, for their exceptional guidance and support throughout the summer. Their expertise, trust, and encouragement helped me grow both personally and professionally, and I appreciate the opportunities they provided for me to learn and contribute. Looking forward, I’m excited to apply the skills, knowledge, and insights I gained during my internship to my future career. Thank you again for an unforgettable summer that I will always cherish! #BetterEveryDay

As my 10-week internship at Cottingham & Butler comes to a close, I can't help but feel a mix of pride, gratitude, and excitement for the future. Throughout my time here, I experienced immense growth, both professionally and personally. From day one, I was immersed into the dynamic world of insurance, and quickly learned it's about building relationships, understanding clients' needs, and providing solutions that truly make a difference. The people I met along the way have had an everlasting impact on my life. I am incredibly grateful for the mentorship, guidance, and support from my colleagues at Cottingham & Butler. Every single person I met during my time has contributed to my journey in a unique and meaningful way. A huge thank you to C&B for this incredible opportunity, and to Buck Krueger, AAI, CIC for mentoring me along the way. Your commitment to fostering a learning environment and encouraging growth has made this summer unforgettable. I am excited to take the lessons I've learned and the experiences I've had with me as I continue to build my career. Here's to one last semester before the start of my professional career!

Last Friday I finished my second summer internship at Cottingham & Butler. My experience over these past 10 weeks has been nothing short of an incredible experience. I was able to grow professionally and personally, while also expanding my knowledge within the transportation industry. During the internship, I not only reached all of my cold-calling, appointment setting, and opportunity gathering goals, but I exceeded them. I was also able to travel multiple times with different producers and gain invaluable insight into the different parts of the sales-process. I was able to see how every customer, meeting, and sale is different making the ability to adapt vital. Additionally, I was able to form connections with multiple full-time producers who provided me with knowledge and mentorship. The intern group I worked with was also one of a kind. I was able to create countless friendships that will last for years to come. I want to thank everyone who helped me throughout this internship, and I especially want to thank Brandon Darrah, CIC, CRM, Todd Bauer, AAI, AIS, TRIP, and Chris Loewenberg for providing help and guidance throughout the internship. Reflecting on my journey, I’ve gained extensive knowledge about insurance, sales, the transportation industry, and, most importantly, myself. This internship has provided me with a new perspective and skills that I will take into my final year of college and ultimately into my future career.

Last week, my second summer internship with Cottingham & Butler came to end. I wanted to take a moment to express how thankful I am for the experience and for how much I’ve been able to grow during these past two summers. I would like to give a huge thank you to Todd Bauer, AAI, AIS, TRIP, Chris Loewenberg and Brandon Darrah, CIC, CRM for all of the amazing support and helping me progress professionally and personally. With that being said, I am excited to announce I have accepted a full-time role as a sales executive in the NSTD division! Thank you to everyone at Cottingham & Butler who has welcomed me to the team for the last 17 months and I’m very excited to use the knowledge and skills I’ve gained in the future.

As my summer internship at Cottingham & Butler comes to an end, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for this incredible experience. Working with such a dedicated and innovative team has been a true privilege, and I am thankful for the opportunities to learn and grow. Over the past summers, I have worked on various impactful projects. My first year, I focused on reforming and refining the new business process. The following summer, I dived into loss analysis and program comparisons, creating a benchmarking tool for our food and agriculture vertical. In my third year, I developed new case studies to enhance our resources. This summer has been particularly challenging and rewarding. Alongside preparing for football season, traveling for work, cold calling, and project work, I dedicated myself to studying for my property and casualty license. I am incredibly proud to announce that I have successfully passed the test! A special thank you to Emily Glanz for being an exceptional mentor throughout this journey. Your guidance, support, and insights have been invaluable, and I have learned so much from you. With that being said, I am excited to announce that I have accepted a full-time role as a sales executive within the risk management division! Thank you, Cottingham & Butler, for an unforgettable summer and for welcoming me into your team. I am excited to carry forward the skills and knowledge I’ve gained into my future endeavors.

The employee-funded C&B Better Initiative recently held their latest meeting to select a grant recipient for the second quarter of the year. 120+ team members chose to support Urban Bicycle Food Mission with a $12,000 donation! This non-profit organization, operated solely by volunteers, is dedicated to providing free meals in the downtown Dubuque area every Sunday evening. "This grant means a year of guaranteed service - we'll be able to serve over 10,000 meals to local individuals and families," said Amanda Reynolds, UBFM Board President. "We are so grateful for this opportunity and to be able to secure this funding is crucial for our small grassroots agency."

My past ten weeks with Cottingham & Butler were absolutely invaluable. This internship is unparalleled within the industry, and their structure, expertise, professionalism, and real-world experience exceeded all of my expectations. Throughout my time, I gained knowledge from full-time producers, mentors, as well as my peers. I am beyond grateful for the mentorship I had, and a special thank you to Maddie Andrews, Chris Loewenberg, Todd Bauer, AAI, AIS, TRIP, and Darin Mills. As for my fellow interns, thank you for teaching me every day. Our group is insanely talented, and I wish you luck with your future endeavors. Looking back, I have learned so much about insurance, sales, the transportation industry, and ultimately myself. As I enter my final year of university and the beginning of my career, I will push myself to “be curious,” and in turn, strive to be “better every day.”

The past ten weeks with Cottingham & Butler have been filled with knowledge, growth, and unforgettable memories! As my internship as an Associate Client Consultant Intern concludes, I am filled with gratitude. I had the privilege to form connections with amazing individuals, learn from industry experts, and develop skills that will contribute to my future success. From hands-on learning to insightful takeaways, every moment has contributed to my understanding and further curiosity of the insurance industry. None of this would have been possible without the guidance, support, and encouragement I received from my mentors, Joseph Rodrigues, REBC and Kelsey Foley! You both have had such an impact on my professional and personal journey, and I cannot thank you enough. Thank you to everyone at C&B for welcoming me with open arms, and continuously pushing me to be "Better Every Day."

Insurance, how I have come to love getting to learn about you. My 10 weeks interning at Cottingham & Butler were exceptional. While humbling to be in a room full of people who are highly knowledgeable on a topic such as insurance, it was motivating and rewarding to see how much I learned yet how much I have yet to grow. During my time at C&B, I was able to attend a collection of external meetings whether it was an audit, initial prospect, a renewal, or relationship building. This gave me a significant amount of insight on what the authentic process looks like for a sales representative that is actively building a book of business. Being a risk management sales intern, I also made a minimum of 75 cold calls weekly which helped me become more confident in handling objections, get comfortable speaking with individuals that hold executive positions, and understanding the importance of providing a value proposition. This resulted in also being able to exceed the goal for meetings set that was made by the company. Over this internship I learned a lot about insurance, sales, and myself. It’s been exciting to see myself grow and to get exactly what I wanted out of this experience. I can say I am very excited to take what I have learned and hit the ground running to have a successful last semester of college! Thank you to Cottingham & Butler and the entire team over there for this amazing opportunity. I appreciate your time along with the intentional efforts to make this a summer to remember. I am extremely proud to say I was able to get “better everyday”!