Now that I am halfway through my summer internship, I am here to say that, at least in my experience, that internships are not all about coffee runs and making copies (and if that is what you're doing and you find yourself being treated poorly, it probably isn't worth your time, according to the article "7 Signs Your Internship Isn't Worth Your Time" on http://heatherhuhman.com).
Where do I even begin telling you about how I ended up interning at News-O-Matic, a children's news publication in New York? Well, first off, I applied to about 10 different internships. I heard back from three. One of them was from News-O-Matic, asking if I was still interested in an internship. I said yes, I was. Although I had never heard of the publication before, it seemed like a unique opportunity. Writing for kids? I've never done that before.
One phone conversation, an in-person interview and a bunch of back-and-forth emails later, I got the internship. So began the twice a week commutes to New York City. And the coffee runs and making copies, I thought. But to my surprise, I wasn't doing either of those things.
To say that my first day as an intern was overwhelming would be an understatement. I felt like I was thrown into the fire -- in one day I had to learn all of the computer programs and how to check that everything was working properly once we published. I was thinking, "What did I get myself into?" Don't even get me started on the first story I ever wrote -- a feature on former president Chester A. Arthur -- my first draft was ripped apart by the Editor in Chief.
But I didn't let my mishaps stop me. I kept pushing through the difficult times with the attitude of "I'm here to learn and grow." And I can't even begin to tell you how much I have learned -- not just how to write news for kids, the work that is put into the daily publication (it's a lot harder than it looks!) or how the fast-paced environment that is the news industry works. I've learned that my writing can influence people immensely -- I notice it especially when our young readers send in drawings that have to do with a story I wrote.
And I have had so many accomplishments with this opportunity -- I've talked to national park rangers, learned so many facts about our presidents and U.S. history and my personal favorite, that I interviewed a professional cyclist that raced in the Tour de France. I can't wait to see what else I accomplish.
However, I know that I am nowhere near done yet. Like I said, I am only halfway through the summer, so I know that I still have lot to learn, not only on how to improve in my internship, but what skills I'll be learning from this experience to use in future college classes and my career.
So, if you have the opportunity to intern, go for it -- you never know what you may learn.
