“In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact,” by Lee Brown. As a CGS intern, this is exactly what I want to do; I want to leave my mark on the world starting with Penn State. To do so, I will continue the Center’s mission of educating Penn State and the local community about globalization. However, this was not the main reason I applied for this internship. As a sophomore, I have no idea what I want to do after graduation and it petrifies me. I am majoring in International Politics and Global and International Studies and that literally means a million things. I could choose to work in one of thousands of government jobs, or one of millions of NGO’S, non-profits, and who knows what else global studies can do for me. This is why I applied for the CGS internship; I wanted to help narrow down my post graduation plans. Then, things changed. As I was preparing for my interview, I read all the intern blogs and became really excited about the opportunity to put all my previous experience into one practical work environment. Not only that, but I will be interviewing professionals in fields I am interested in, blog (which I secretly love to do), work in a collaborative setting with two other interns, the Associate Director Sarah Lyall-Combs, and Mary Price along with other things.
This is my first internship and I have a lot of expectations based on the stories I read from previous interns and what I already know about internships.
My expectations are:
- Gain valuable work experience to help boost my resume for future internships or careers
- Learn more about this field and different paths I can take
- Network with professionals in fields related to my major
- Learn how to analytically think and solve problems in this field
- Gain exposure to challenges of working in global studies
- And have FUN!!!
In the short week that I have been working for the Center, I wrote my first press release for the brown bag series. When Sarah asked me to write it, I was naturally nervous, but I said yes because this is why I am here. I want to learn in anyway that I can whether that be how to conduct a formal interview or write a press release.
I am confident that as the weeks go by I will be challenged in ways that will make me grow as a professional and a person.