What is the Benefit of Interning in College?

From freshman orientation until the penultimate moment before you walk across the stage at graduation, college is a learning experience for everyone. Every student learns at their own pace and in different ways, and that’s what makes us all individuals. In college, lectures and class discussions structure how we absorb and demonstrate the integral information that we need to succeed in our respective fields. This knowledge is extremely important and that’s exactly why we go to college in the first place, but what if I told you that I learned things outside of the classroom about my major and myself that I couldn’t have unearthed anywhere else?

As someone who has successfully completed an internship with the world-renowned Walt Disney Company and is currently interning for the non-profit Ski NH, I can definitely say that these work experiences have positively shaped me both as a student and as an individual.

Though working at Disney World and in an office above the Bank of New Hampshire in Lincoln are two entirely different experiences, both internships have led me to personal growth and learning. With the former, I learned how to live with roommates, the proper way to cook nacho cheese, and that turning a less-than-desirable work situation into an opportunity to forge great friendships is the best thing you can do for your sanity. With the latter, I’ve gotten to utilize the skills and information that I’ve learned as an English major to connect with an audience and tell stories. I’m also in charge of the non-profit’s social media. As a fellow millennial I can say that it’s great to get paid to be on my phone!

Regardless of where you go or what you do, an internship can teach you things that you simply cannot learn in the classroom. These things, whether they are skills or life lessons or something else entirely, must be experienced first-hand in order to be truly understood and a change of scenery certainly can’t hurt.

So, if you have the opportunity to do an internship, no matter how near or far it may take you, take it. You’ll learn, you’ll experience, and in the end you’ll be a better individual and student for it.