Internships provide students with opportunity to gain experience
An internship is a defining moment for students to show their skills and gain experience for future careers. My degree plan requires students to complete an internship before graduation, however, this was my opportunity to prove my skills.
To find an internship, I was given a list of contacts, and once an internship was secured I had to email the internship professor to do the necessary paperwork for the class. Even with direction and resources, I was struggling with where to begin.
To start, I edited my resume with relevant experience from my classes. Then, I spent time pouring through the 30 pages of listed internship opportunities before narrowing down the right opportunities for my career path.
This is where I hit a major roadblock. Starting in February, I applied to places and drafted emails inquiring about opportunities every Monday in hopes of finding a summer internship. After applying and contacting people, I was stuck in limbo waiting for responses.
Out of the 25 places I contacted, I heard back from seven of them. I was able to get three interviews. The first, I walked in and was offered the internship before the interview was over.
As paperwork finished, I finally enjoyed the fruit of my labor working as an intern for a school district. My mentor assigned several projects from research to writing to design.
My favorite project involved the district alumni association because I worked on it from the beginning starting with the research and website design. I came in excited every day to scour the internet for information, complete spreadsheets, write content and design graphics for the project.
My internship was more than I expected. I made many mistakes in my drafts before my mentor gave me the go ahead. Before I completed my internship, I was nervous about graduating. I doubted my skills heavily, but my internship showed me professionals make mistakes all the time.
My mentor allowed me to exercise talents and gain confidence in them. The road to obtaining and completing an internship can be discouraging, however, what students earn from the experience is priceless.
