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Karina, for the second week in a row, has some things to say about internships! Read what she has to say about her experience of interning at Mission Graduates and what the benefits of interning are.

 

Hi, everyone. This is Karina Belberska from Colby-Sawyer College. This week I will be talking to you about the importance of internships.

There is one very important thing that every college student should keep an eye out for and that is an internship. Now, I know a lot of us cringe at the thought of the countless hours we have to spend searching, applying, and interviewing for internships. But trust me, there is no better relief and feeling during your college years than hearing about your acceptance to an internship place. In a way, the internship experience is our first contact with the so-called “real world.” It is our first taste of the professional environment where we develop skills that will, hopefully, be useful to us in future careers.

I had the honor of doing my internship in the summer after my junior year with Mission Graduates’ Marshall Elementary Summer Afterschool program. It was an amazing experience that prepared me not only to better work with young individuals (grades k-5th), but it further reinforced my time-management, reasoning, and critical-thinking skills. I was the health and nutrition coordinator during that summer and I worked closely with the program director to ensure the students were getting the needed health and nutrition information.

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Students painting in one of their classes

I was honored to complete my internship with such great people from the staff of Mission Graduates. The atmosphere felt like a family and each staff member was extremely supportive of my efforts to educate the children more about health and nutrition.

The following summer I was pleasantly surprised to be invited back. This time I found it even more natural to work with the students, reaching back from the experiences I had during the first time. I also helped lead small yoga sessions with the students, which in my opinion helped with focus in the class. The students enjoyed doing something that may have been foreign to them and were very happy to learn new exercises.

Overall, I would have not traded my internship exercise for anything. It was so valuable and taught me different ways to relate to students and grab their attention, which is much needed when teaching a lesson. This is applicable to the work environment as young and emerging workers we need certain skill sets. One of those skills is finding a way to gather people’s attention and bringing light to ideas for numerous, different occasions.

My advice to you would be to search and apply for internships earlier. Check out your schools’ deadlines and see when the earliest time would be to apply. It would be beneficial because it might be your first working experience, and you might even secure yourself a job spot after graduation.

 

Karina Belberska, Cohort 2

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