Dear IRIS,

When I was introduced to you, I was frightened.  You are every new interns’ nightmare and I was no exception.  You are complex, demand details and specifics, and were thick. I pictured the days sitting and staring at you for hours with no pleasure.  However, I covered my emotions with a smile and look of gratitude when I saw you.

The first night I sat with you, I’ll be honest, it was rough, I doubted myself and kept going back to check and make sure you were perfect.  As I’ve mentioned, I am a new intern and I did not want to mess up in the first month.  After the first hour past, things miraculously began to change; I started looking at what you were saying and not that you were just oozing with words.  You were teaching me about ways to transform my major into a career, informing me about varying disciplines that work in global studies, and showing me a behind the scenes look into the Center of Global Studies.  All the professors, independent consultants, staff and students that you told me about inspired me to look at the world in a new light.  You told me about Gai Nyok, a “Lost-Boy” from Sudan who turned his past struggles into a career at the U.S. State Department as a foreign service officer, made me think about the deeper meaning of photography and how it serves as a weapon against cops, and so much more.  After hour two I was impressed with you and how your silence opened my eyes to a new world perspective.  No, you did not give me all the information, but you gave me the foundation to begin research.  That is when I became grateful to you because you were not just any old task.

Unfortunately, you were not perfect, you upset me more than once.  You told me about the number of people who came to each event that the CGS sponsored or co-sponsored last academic year.  I was immediately disappointed because the events sounded incredibly interesting and relevant.  Then, the light bulb switched on, I was one of those students who did not attend the events.  In my defense, I had no idea what the Center of Global Studies was or that it hosted events that correlated with my major until this past summer.  As an intern, this is something I would like to see change this year; promotion and awareness needs to be expanded. We need to get the word out about these events because there could be people like me interested, but unaware. 

IRIS, you are more than an International and Foreign Language Education database system that required 11 hours out of my life.  You were a lesson that taught me patience and helped me see my internship in a new light. 

Yours Truly,

Rana Mohamed

P.S. I hope the next Intern who meets you appreciates you as much as I did.