I know what you are thinking... 13 weeks of fetching coffee for managers for "experience" in the real world. Contrary to popular belief, this was not my experience at all. Here are 5 things I learned in the process!
1. Being an intern wasn't like what people think it is.
Although many joked that I would just be paid to serve coffee at meetings and have a little desk outside my boss' office, I knew the place I was going to be working was much more then that. This lab is a place that relied on my support to get the bulk of the sample processing completed and they were most definitely welcoming me with open arms!
2. You learn a lot about people while spending eight hours a day by their side.
Sixty percent of my time was spent in a lab looking through a microscope at isty, bitsy, fish. This was not an excuse for a lack of fun. We told funny (and not so funny) jokes and sang along to the radio as loud as we could. Sometimes we got on each others nerves. We would throw fish puns around like nobody's business and it starts to get old. But regardless if we were laughing, screaming about our results, or ready to take a nap we got along pretty well.
It's o"FISH"al I love these people and I NEVER want to leave!
3. "Internship" doesn't mean dress up in heels that you can't walk in and a dress that rides up.
The other 40 percent of my time was spent working in the field collecting samples or out on the boat. I wore khakis and hiking shoe most of the time but my boat wear was typically a T-shirt and shorts to not die from heat stroke. We were required to wear rubber rain pants for safety and they pretty much don't let your skin breathe... at all.
4. I learned A LOT about what I want to do with my life.
I don't think I would mind spending the next 5 years of my life identifying fish and going out on the boat to tag lobsters. I like the variability more than anything. I wasn't outside all the time or sitting in the lab for days on end which is something that I enjoy.
5. This will be one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
Not only did I spend close to 500 hours learning new things and taking on new experiences, this also counted toward my college class credits. One of the requirements for the class is to keep a journal of everything I experienced and include pictures of my journey as well. This will be something that I can should my children and something I will always be proud of regardless how long it is (almost 50 pages is a lot of pages for learning... 50....it's amazing!!)
This internship meant so much to me because I took many things away from it. All in 13 weeks I made new (hopefully lifelong) friends that have the same interests as I do, earned credits towards my Bachelor's degree, and learned a load of new things all while having fun and laughing along the way!
