The following piece is an opinion and does not reflect the views of The Eagle and its staff. All opinions are edited for grammar, style and argument structure and fact-checked, but the opinions are the writer’s own.
One of American University’s most attractive qualities is the variety of internship and fellowship opportunities in D.C. Naturally, this means AU is full of eager students seeking such opportunities to adequately prepare them for their career aspirations. In my college application process, I found that more than 86% of AU undergraduates complete internships prior to graduation, well above the 60% national average. These opportunities and statistics inspired me to choose American, for I wanted access to unmatched opportunities.
Internships these days, especially during the summer, are extremely competitive with mountains of applications, making the desire to finally score one amidst the chaos even more cut throat and stressful. It’s a canon event that a company will “ghost” applications and leave applicants wondering, “So, did I even hit submit?” The feeling of submitting countless applications to receive status updates from only a handful is demoralizing. So when one seemingly does the impossible — managing to hear back with an acceptance email — the immediate answer, regardless of what the position may be, is, “Yes! I accept!” However, our trigger-happy acceptances might call for more contemplation in the grand scheme of fulfillment. What happens when we actually accept a position we might not be ready or really interested in?
This has been my reality every semester, aside from the summer before my sophomore year when I managed to get lucky. That summer, I landed a position as a congressional intern in my congressman’s district office for ten weeks. Congressional internships are an unparalleled opportunity to work within government as a young person while still maintaining pride for your hometown district.
However, since I politically disagreed with my congressman on just about everything and voted against him in every election, I felt uncomfortable advocating for his policies professionally. While I developed political grit and a bittersweet sense of bipartisanship, I felt something was missing: my summer. I quickly learned that a full-time job with a 40-minute commute every day was a hard pill to swallow for a fresh 19-year-old. My summer used to only consist of hanging out with my friends or getting someone to cover my part-time job, and now it consists of worrying about the socioeconomic state of the country.
In retrospect, I don’t blame myself for applying at all, and I am still immensely grateful for the opportunity and what I learned in regard to my studies. However, I wish I could have told my freshman self, who panic-applied to internships because everyone else did, to keep an open mind and to not be trigger-happy with acceptances. I would have said to myself, “You have your entire life to work; you’re only 19; do something truly meaningful to you right now.”
Personal adjustment to internships can be difficult, especially if the internships are full-time, in-office positions during the summer. Being young, it can be hard to adjust when, perhaps, just last year, we were working part-time at a restaurant or spending the summer traveling with no commitments. Of course, not everyone makes the same mistake I made. Many students choose to work in internships that are closely aligned with their morals and goals, and I absolutely applaud them for it. But before you apply, ask yourself, “Do you actually want this position, or are you just applying to apply?”
I still find it hard to understand that summers as a college student are a transitionary period between the carefreeness of youth and the adult workforce. When the summer internship application period came during my sophomore year, I decided to forgo applying to office positions and instead applied to out of the box opportunities so I could savor my summer. I write this as an Americorps member across the country from my home, doing outdoor work with the National Park Service.
I applaud those who have found administrative internships and happiness this summer; however, for some, a more “outside the box” job that makes one feel fulfilled can leave a more lasting academic and personal impact. For a number of students, a corporate internship leaves a piece of the puzzle missing. It is okay and normal to not want a corporate internship, as everyone’s path is different.
Summer can be a never-ending mental battle in balancing the desire for an office job with more personal desires and fears of missing out. Personally, I want an office internship to apply to my degree, but at the same time, I can’t swallow the normal 9-5 when it’s beautiful out. This might make me a little naive, but I hope this dilemma can be normalized, because jobs and internships should be more than just building a resume.
Mari Santos is a junior in the School of Public Affairs and a columnist for The Eagle.
This piece was edited by Alana Parker, Rebeca Samano Arellano and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Charlie Mennuti.
opinion@theeagleonline.com
