I Know What You Did Last Summer

Posted May 29, 2013 by Carolyn Lucas

The summer is always a great time to capitalize on opportunities that escape during the cold, hard, rainy winter season.  For me, I ended up getting a summer internship in an aspect of GSLIS that I had never before considered – records management.  While I am super excited just to have an internship – and a paying one at that – I am even more excited to try out what is the “hors d’oeuvre” of the meal of one’s career (sorry, this metaphor is kind of falling apart…).  I’m pretty excited to be trying out this new career path, and I have super high hopes (expectations) that this will end up being THE NEW CAREER FOR ME. 

I have very little expectation that this career won’t work out.  But it is the last in a long line of internships that I have tried in my still juvenile career – I have worked in financial planning, in support and administration, in publishing.  I have worked at Harley Davidson Motor Company, law firms, and for various academic institutions.  And while they may not have been my total cup of tea, they definitely gave me the insight as to what I liked and didn’t like – and I could tailor my next internship experience with that knowledge. 

I also love the length of internships – twelve weeks, to me, is about the perfect time to work.  It’s not long enough where you start to run out of work and are scrambling for something to do (once, when I was bored at a job, I organized the entire supply closet for my floor), but it’s long enough where you can tackle two or three huge projects, or a plethora of short ones, and finish it with bows on before the internship ends. 

And of course, there are always those lucky few who find internships whose work cannot be completed in twelve weeks, and who are asked to stay on for part-time work into the semester. 

I am super excited for the summer.  It has all of the things I love – sun, sundresses, long days, Toscanini’s Ice Cream, and internships.  Guys: I am ready.  Let’s get this show on the road.