As summer is quickly approaching, the one thing that seems to be on everyone’s minds is getting that summer job or internship. Now more than ever, a college student’s success in college is often also attributed to the various internships and jobs that we have during the course of our education.
As someone who has been trying to find an internship, I can relate to the stresses of finding an internship that fits your interest and that will also be a meaningful experience. As I have gone through the process, I have learned that most of the internships require lots of technical skills and are often targeted at juniors and seniors. I’ve found the process frustrating because as a freshman, you are required to take many general education classes which often leave little time — if any at all — to take classes related to your major. Finding a good internship as a freshman seems like a somewhat impossible task. After my own struggle in finding an internship, I was interested to hear about a “winternship,” a program that many other schools on the quarter system recommend to their students. Over a family dinner one night, a family friend brought to my attention a program that Dartmouth recommends to their students called the “winternship.” At first I was skeptical of this so called “winternship” but academically speaking, it is completely logical. Essentially, the idea of the “wintership” is that college students go to school during the summer, fall and spring but then in the winter they return home for a term to gain some professional experience in an internship or entry level job. More and more colleges are beginning to recommend students taking a term off in the winter because often times there are much better internships available and less competition between kids for top internships.
As I compared this idea to my own experience, I began to realize how beneficial a program like this could be here at University of Oregon. Almost everyone on campus will agree that winter term is by far the most depressing term because of the eerie weather which often affects student’s moods and work ethic. While the thought of the “winternship” seems foreign and a little odd at first, I think it would be great for some students to be more productive in these otherwise gloomy months in Eugene. Not only would it keep students engaged and involved, but it would also give them an edge when applying for other internships, because they already have some form of experience. Freshman would not feel completely overwhelmed when applying for other jobs because they will have had professional experience. Technically speaking, the university can allow students to take these internships, but unlike other schools, they do not recommend it. So with all that being said, if you are a student like me looking for more professional experience and a couple less gloomy months in Eugene, you might consider a “winternship” to get a head start!
