During my undergraduate career, I somehow managed to fit three internships into my "free time". Two of these internships happened to be geared more towards my major in communication, meaning that they were focused on organizational development and marketing. My final internship was connected to my minor in hotel and restaurant management. I was an assistant to a wedding planner, which in the end turned into a part-time position for six months of the year.
All the three of these opportunities were ones that I sought out. They are something I would highly recommend if you can afford to because while you may not make money, you gain experience.
All three of these opportunities helped me expand my network, learn to be organized, and learn skills that I would not have learned in my coursework.
1. Networking is so important.
During my orientation at my university, there was a lot of buzz about networking. It was repeated over and over again in the first weekend, but for the first year of my college years I never thought about it. It wasn't really until my final internship I truly realized the power of networking. Having a network that supports you is what can help you succeed in life.
2. Get organized!
Being a full time student while working a part time job, and being an intern helped me truly buckle down and get organized. I would write lists make sure my google calendar was up to date, and every night I would take the time update that list. List's were my way of being organized, but there are thousands of other ways. In hindsight if I didn't pack my schedule I never would have figured out what worked best for me.
2. Offer up ideas, no matter what.
Innovation to me means to bring new ideas or new ways of doing old processes. My internships offered me a lot of freedom when it came to tasks. I was given a lot of opportunities to update process when it was related to my task and was frequently asked my opinion on new ideas. While I know from talking to others this could be rare for me it is probably the reason I kept looking for new internships. I liked creating new processes and offering up new idea's to change how small things worked.
Additionally, these opportunities are what helped me narrow down my future career choice.
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