by Danny Keating

In the spring of 2016, I was listening to an introduction of UC student in his last year of college. The host outlined some of the incredible accomplishments he had achieved while in college, ending the introduction with his current co-op at AMEND Consulting.

I was intrigued to learn more about a company that was able to attract such an accomplished student away from top tier firms, and filed away the company name until it came time for myself to co-op.

Flash forward to the fall of my freshman year of college, I decided to take up business analytics as a major and my advisor insisted that I meet with a man by the name of Paul Bessire, our most accomplished alumni in the analytical field. Before I met with him, I did some research to find out more about Paul, and I learned that at the time he was working part-time at AMEND Consulting.

There it was again, the company AMEND was back, and I once more found myself wondering how a small company is attracting world-class talent away from the big firms.

After learning that Paul Bessire had decided to join the AMEND team with the opportunity to go to nearly any company, I was determined to meet more people working at AMEND.

I was set up to meet with a partner from AMEND Consulting by the name of Paul Delaney. Before this, every encounter I have had with a potential employer has had a similar feel to that of an interview, and as such, I came in expecting just that. The second he sat down at the table the atmosphere of the meeting relaxed, and I felt at ease. We had a pleasant conversation about everything from the founding of AMEND to Cincinnati’s strange love for high schools and even talking about when he lived in South Africa. It was the most genuine conversation I have had with a possible employer, and I began to understand why AMEND was so appealing.

A week later I met more of the AMEND team and was once again blown away by the talent that AMEND had been able to attract, from Marines to those who graduated at the top of their class, each seemed more impressive than the last.

During my first co-op at a large CPA firm, I was talking to older UC students in my program about the work they have been doing at AMEND as analysts. They told me how, as analysts, they were interacting directly with clients, using cutting edge technology, developing and applying analytical tools to problems, and working to solve the unique challenges that each client presents. I was astonished by the difference in their experience versus mine and knew I wanted something like that.

I decided that instead of going to a renowned company, I would go to the company that I thought would value me the most and provide me with the best work as an individual: AMEND. I knew, in the long run, the experience I would gain at AMEND in one short semester was more valuable than having a well-known name on my resume. I was given the remarkable opportunity to join the AMEND team this past January, and I haven’t looked back since.