With the academic year quickly approaching, my days working as a summer intern continue to diminish. While spending the past three months learning the actuarial field, I realized that I’ve learned more than just number crunching secrets. I found out there is a much lighter side to office life that is seldom expressed. So, I’ve taken it upon myself to present my list of “Top Ten Corporate Things� that I love!

10. Office Luncheons: Very few things can top an hour of compensated work complemented with an inner-office smorgasbord of tastes from downtown cafes.

9. Windows Office Messenger: This “professional� version of instant messaging is the perfect tool to pass the time during a boring day of cubical work. It also shows whether or not a coworker is at his/her desk at any given time.

8. The Penthouse Office: The narcissism of riding in an elevator to the 19th floor of a 19-floor building as the rest of the busy-bees file out of the elevator to lower level floors always puts a smile on my face. Yeah, I may be vane, but it sure is fun to see their amused face as they realize my office is higher than theirs.

7. Bottomless Fountain Drinks: Each break station in the office has fountain beverages of Coke & Pepsi - among a various assortment of waters and coffees. It’s like having a 7-11 in each corner of the office! Just be sure to bring your own drinking cup, because the 12 ounce Styrofoam jobs won’t hand a candle for your thirst.

6. Downtown Studio Apartment + Parking: I’m within five blocks of Jacobs Field, Playhouse Square, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and my workplace. To top it off, I can park my friends in the garage for free! Having this proximity is like living on campus – only for grownups.

5. Study Hours: In order to pass my career exams, my office grants compensated study hours for their associates in substitution of office work. Understandably, I study during this time so I’m not escaping actual work, but I’m still getting paid to study!

4. Company Softball: Free Softball + Free Shirt + Athletic Coworkers = Awesomeness

3. Money: It’s nice getting paid for work that I’ve previously done for free!...Er…Should I say “volunteered� to do?

2. Perks: The perks you receive working for a large, downtown corporation are compensation in it of itself. The following is just a handful of things I’ve gotten to do through my employer: dined in the club level of Jacobs Field, received no less than five items of clothing with my company’s logo, and arranged tee times at impressive nearby private golf courses.

1. Only an Internship: Understanding that this past summer has only been an internship is great. Because, when work becomes too monotonous, I know that school is just around the corner. And, if that becomes too monotonous, I know that another summer internship is on its way. And, if that gets too monotonous….Well, you get the picture!