Hi everyone, I’m Geoffrey Taylor, and welcome to my cubicle!
I am one of three Corporate Tax Interns this semester, and I am lucky enough to work with the State Income Division Team on the 3rd floor of HDQ. On day one at Southwest, I started conducting Tax Research for all our individual state jurisdictions, and since then, I have been given the opportunity to work on various state and city tax filings, Continuous Improvement projects, and a handful of fixed asset depreciation reconciliations.
The professionalism and political insight that I gained from working alongside the staff in U.S. Senator Roger Wicker’s Washington D.C. office played a huge part in contributing to my Intern application with Southwest, and I am sure I will be able to say the same thing about my SWA experience moving forward—hopefully ending up here as a full-time Employee to the Southwest Family!
Two of my most prized possessions came from the time I spent interning in Washington D.C., back in 2015. I was awarded my challenge coin by Colonel Mallory D. Woodcock for escorting a military group across the capitol during a complete shutdown of the campus. My space pen was given to me by the Congressman from my hometown district of Tyler, Texas after I had the opportunity to visit his office and meet with him.
Coming from the heart of the SEC, YETI Tumbler ownership is essentially a requirement, and by bringing my own insulated cup to work I get the added benefit of going green and using our eco-friendly filtered water dispensers in order to avoid waste from plastics and similar disposables!
After our flight plans fell through one Friday night, my Intern travel group decided to drive to the airport early Saturday morning and take an impromptu day trip. We just happened to end up in New Orleans. On Mardi Gras weekend, noless. We spent the entire day embracing our Fun-LUVing Attitudes by exploring Bourbon Street, and, of course, a stop by Café Du Monde for some world-class beignets on our way back to the airport!
If you’ve ever been to a Mississippi State football game or even watched one on TV, there’s no doubt you’ve heard about our cowbells! Legend has it in the early days of Mississippi State football in a rivalry game against Ole Miss, a jersey cow decided to storm the field, and the resulting change in momentum led to a hearty MSU victory. The cowbell economy has been booming ever since in Starkville, Mississippi, and my SWA cowbell will serve as a heartwarming memento of how Mississippi State helped me land my dream internship!
Believe it or not, one of the most useful things I brought with me to my SWA internship from Mississippi State was my handy dandy #hailstate selfie stick! Before heading to the airport on Friday afternoons, I always make sure my selfie stick makes it into my bag of travel essentials so that I can take the best group photos in an attempt to win the #campusreach social media competitions.
Who doesn’t love dogs, right? Well, actually, I’ve got a reputation for being adamant about not wanting to be a puppy owner anytime soon. So much so, that when I used my Intern privileges to fly back to Mississippi for my birthday, my friends gifted me a Dog Lovers 2017 Desk Calendar to try and warm me up to the idea. I’ve now gotten to the point where I’ll post each day’s “Doggio Fact” from my cube on my Snapchat story, and when I occasionally miss a day, I can always count on my friends not to let me forget the next time around.