Many college students around the world are interns. Some intern during the summer, some intern during the school year, some both. Some intern during winter breaks and some intern even after college, probably because they can’t find a job right off the bat. But, why do many college students actually want to spend their breaks interning? It gives them a sneak peak into the life they very well could be living after college, and experience in the fields that they are studying and interested in, or someone told them that it looks good on a resume and they didn’t really have anything else to do. But, sometimes, it seems like spending your vacation time sitting in an office and being someone’s intern isn’t the most exciting thing you could be doing. After all, you keep seeing people’s Facebook and Instagram pictures from their cool travels to Europe and South America, but if you find an internship you like, in a field of study you’re interested in, then spending your time as an intern will definitely be worth it.
As the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college comes to a close, I’m taking a look back at my amazing internship in New York City. Before it was even summer I knew I wanted a part time internship, so that I can also make money as a part time waitress, and part time babysitter. I went online to look for internships and there were so many. If you are even remotely thinking about being an intern, spend some time online researching all the opportunities that are available to you, because trust me there are so many openings out there! Don’t be afraid to apply, and to be quite honest apply to as many as you can, because many internships are very competitive. Once you find internships you are interested in and get accepted into a program, you are embarking on quite an exciting journey, no matter how small or large your job as an intern actually is.
Once everything is set in stone and you have your internship schedule, things become a little bit trickier, because now it’s all in the details. You have to think about what to wear, look professional, presentable, yet not over the top, but most importantly appropriate for the specific internship you are participating in. Then after you are dressed and ready to go you have to get there. Of course everyone has a different commute, but because my internship is in New York City I got an inside look into the New York City subway system. Although I live in New Jersey and travel into the city often, I never quite got the gist of the subway. What train to take, uptown or downtown, where to get off and switch trains, express or local, east and west; it is all super confusing on the outside, but once I got the hang of it, and the stress of traveling and arriving on time didn’t freak me out, subway time became kind of sacred. I just get on the express A train downtown, try to find a seat, although at 9 a.m. in New York City everyone seems to be trying to get downtown, put on my headphones and just go through my playlists. From the Hamilton soundtrack to Beyoncé's "Lemonade" album, subway music time was a great start of my day and made the commute really fun and always faster than expected. Unfortunately, every time I walk up from the subway I still have to reorient myself, because I still haven’t mastered how to exit the subways onto the streets of New York without feeling completely lost. But once I got my route down, getting off the subway at my usual stop wasn’t bad because, I just made exiting on the right side of the street part of my routine, so I don’t get confused anymore, or have to stand on the streets for 3 minutes staring at Google Maps. Then I just walk a couple blocks and ring the doorbell up to the office.
Once I’m in the office the real day begins. Making sure everything is neat and clean, grabbing coffee for people, running a million errands to Staples, Duane Reade, different restaurants, and all the specialty stores you could think of, in the New York City summer heat, stapling papers, binding papers, shredding papers, highlighting things, organizing wires, greeting guests, washing dishes, grabbing lunch, eating lunch, desk work, and more errands around town. It’s all exhausting and hard work, and even though it seems simple, it’s still a vital part of the company’s operations, and it’s important work. The experience of doing things, operating in a company, working for people, and working with people is experience that you can’t learn from reading a book or in a classroom, you can only learn it by actually doing it and that’s what internships are for.
But, my main take away from my internship, is that no matter where you intern it is all about the people you do it with. Almost every internship and every job is all about the people. Although I didn’t know most of the people I would be working with and for, as the summer went on I got to know them and love spending time with them, talking about relevant trending things and making a connection. The best takeaway from an internship are the connections you make with the people you work with, because a connection with another person lasts a lifetime and the people you make a connection with are usually willing to help you in the endeavors you want to pursue later on in life, and if they can’t they certainly will be willing to cheer you on.
So go on the internet and look, there’s something there for everyone, apply, and then enjoy your internship, learn a lot and make connections because you never know what each connection might actually turn out to be.
