Upcoming Sophomore at Semi-Target: Take a marketing/rotational internship at a Muslim-focused mid-sized firm, or keep grinding?

Hey everyone,

I’m an upcoming sophomore (currently a freshman) at UT, looking to break into investment banking. First-gen student, zero initial connections, but after grinding through hundreds of cold emails, I managed to secure an internship offer at a mid-sized firm that specializes in providing halal loans and mortgages to the Muslim community in the US.

I’m putting my exact, unfiltered goal out there because I need real advice on my next move: Exactly one year from today, I want to have a Summer 2028 Investment Banking analyst offer secured at Goldman Sachs New York. Here is the situation with my current offer:

• Because of a lengthy compliance/clearance process for their finance side, they told me they can only officially offer me a role in marketing for the summer.
• They mentioned they might be able to give me a general overview or some sort of informal rotation into other business areas later in the summer, but nothing on the finance/banking side is guaranteed.
• I still need to clarify if it’s paid or not. I plan on asking for compensation, but I’m reasonably confident that part won't be a major roadblock.

To be completely blunt, I do not care about marketing at all—I feel like it doesn’t align with the technical finance skill set I need to build. However, it is a firm name on paper for a rising sophomore.

Given my target of landing GS NY IB next year:

1. Do I take this role? If I do, how do I leverage/spin a marketing/rotational title on my resume when recruiting opens up in a few months for front-office sophomore/junior stints?
2. Or do I turn it down and keep grinding? Should I pass on this and spend the next few weeks hammering out cold emails to boutique firms strictly for corporate finance, valuation, or private equity internships where I can get actual technical experience?

Give it to me straight. Appreciate any insights.