Each year, thousands of college students learn from some of the most successful financial advisors in the U.S through Northwestern Mutual’s nationally recognized internship program, which was named by Vault.com as the #1 internship for students seeking careers in the financial services industry.

Northwestern Mutual ranks #5 overall across all industries on Vault’s Top Ten Internships for 2015, and is the only company to be recognized for 19 straight years.

“Our internship program is a cornerstone of our recruiting efforts,” said Lyndsey Stainback, chief recruiting officer for Northwestern Mutual – Eastern North Carolina. "Nationally, 98 percent of our interns said they found the program instrumental or very helpful to their future careers – whether in the financial services industry, sales or other business endeavor," said Stainback.

The company’s internship program focuses on strengthening what it calls the “courage muscle” by offering students a work-world, unique experience. Interns are treated as full-fledged financial representatives, get the opportunity to build relationships, and receive hands-on training and mentoring as they learn how to become successful entrepreneurs. More than 44,000 students have graduated from the program since it began in 1967.

The company projects that one-third of its interns will pursue full-time careers as financial representatives after graduation. Many current successful financial representatives and more than half of the company’s senior field management got their start as Northwestern Mutual interns, including Mike Condrey, managing partner of the Eastern North Carolina regional office based in Raleigh. Condrey has worked with the company for nearly 40 years.