Cookeville native Chris King had spent very little time in Chattanooga before starting his internship with Elliott Davis last summer.
Now, thanks to the accounting firm's seven-week program that was recently rated the best internship in the country by Vault.com, King will be moving to the area to work full time for the company in January 2019 - just a few months before he graduates from Belmont University in Nashville with a Masters of Accountancy degree.
Former Envision intern Chris King, who will be hired at the Elliott Davis Decosimo accounting firm full time, poses for a portrait in the Elliott Davis Decosimo offices on Wednesday, April 25, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. "They appreciate their employees," King said about the firm. "I feel like they really roll out the red carpet for their interns."
King was one of nine interns that went through the ENVISION internship program at the Elliott Davis location in downtown Chattanooga last summer. A recent poll of 12,000 students rated ENVISION as number one out of 100 other internship programs in the country based on five categories: quality of life, compensation and benefits, interview process, career development, and full-time employment prospects.
Vault ranks, rates and reviews thousands of top employers and hundreds of internship programs, according to its website. Throughout the program, Elliott Davis interns work on tax and audit engagements for real clients, complete an intern project, participate in community service and participate in leadership development activities.
Money is also a big motivator to choose the program over others as Elliott Davis offers a pay rate from $18-$26 an hour based on class level, Vault states. College juniors, seniors and recent graduates can apply.
"That alone right there will tell you they are dedicated to finding the talent," King said.
More than 100 interns completed the program in 2017 throughout all of the firm's locations. Based out of Greenville, S.C., Elliott Davis merged with the former Joseph Decosimo & Co. in January 2015 in its biggest acquisition ever. Decosimo was formed by Joe Decosimo and two other accountants in 1971 and grew into Chattanooga's biggest hometown accounting firm before merging with Elliott Davis. The combined firm has about 700 employees at nine offices.
Wynter Elder, a campus recruiter for the program, said the ENVISION internship is highly competitive, and the company looks for students with great leadership qualities who are involved with clubs and activities as well as volunteer groups. She said a good GPA plays a significant role in who they hire and the company seeks out self-starters too, like King.
"He's very focused," Elder said. "He's a non-traditional student, and non-traditional students often know better what they want to pursue in life."
King served in the military for nearly five years before going to school at Tennessee Technological University. It was during a school visit to Chattanooga and the Elliott Davis building on Market Street that King was first introduced to the firm. King said he was "intrigued" by what he saw and the way Elder, and other company employees, represented Elliott Davis.
Sybil Topel, vice president of communications for the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, said "talent development" is one of the top priorities for Chamber members based on surveys. Topel said the Chamber is currently looking for a summer intern and that the organization has always hired and encouraged other businesses in the area to hire interns.
"Talent Development is a tremendous focus for the Chamber as part of our strategic plan to advance our economy," she said. "We encourage students to choose Hamilton County as their first choice of where to start a career."
When talking to fellow students, King said he always recommends an internship no matter the place. For him, interning at Elliott Davis didn't just allow the company to see if he was a good fit, but it helped him learn more about what he wanted and needed in a workplace, he said.
"It just felt right," King said about working at the firm. "Everything they believe - their values - line up with mine. It feels like a family and community."
When they offered him a full-time job at the end of his internship, King said it was a "no-brainer."
"It has been a really easy sell for my wife and my daughter to move here," he said. "It's just an amazing, beautiful community."
Contact staff writer Allison Shirk at ashirk@timesfreepress.com, @Allison_Shirk or 423-757-6651.