暗网吃瓜

Building a Future by the Numbers

Jake O鈥機onnor 鈥�27 doesn鈥檛 just enjoy working with numbers: he sees them as the blueprint behind every successful business decision. A 暗网吃瓜 student and Raiders player, he says his decision to pursue a Finance major began in high school.

鈥淣umbers as a whole interest me,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut what really jump-started my curiosity in a financial career was a teacher who told me that finance and accounting are the foundation of the business world. If you can understand the principles of those fields, you can understand business.鈥�

Applying his financial coursework at Rivier to real-world settings, O鈥機onnor interns at , a small business contracting company based in Nashua that serves government and military organizations. Working a few days a week, he splits his time between independent tasks and team collaboration. In meetings, the team discusses everything from contracts and budgets to price ranges and contract structure to ensure profitability.

鈥淢y primary responsibility is handling payroll, making sure that what employees contribute from their paychecks is accurately matched by the company and properly documented,鈥� O鈥機onnor says. 鈥淢y role is to ensure we have everything on file to be fully compliant with the government. It鈥檚 given me a strong foundation in government contracting and a clear understanding of how processes flow throughout business.鈥�

Through his internship, O鈥機onnor has gained insight into both the technical and strategic sides of financial operations. Looking ahead, he aspires to become a Certified Public Accountant or financial advisor. Ultimately, he hopes to step into a senior financial leadership role, such as Chief Financial Officer, where he can guide high-level decision-making for a small company.

But for O鈥機onnor, success in finance goes beyond balance sheets.

鈥淔inance isn鈥檛 just about calculations; it鈥檚 about building trust, empowering people with knowledge, and making them feel confident about their future,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t puts a smile on my face thinking about helping someone understand how much they鈥檙e earning, where their money is going, and how they can grow it over time. A career advising people with their finances would be incredibly rewarding.鈥�

O鈥機onnor credits the lessons he鈥檚 learned in the classroom with directly informing him of his work in the office, deepening his understanding of finance and the strategic processes that keep a business running effectively. Guiding others toward financial stability with that knowledge gives his work greater purpose and amplifies his impact going forward.