I feel like I’ve always been an intern. I intern at a different organization every year, and those experiences have shaped my career more than anything else in my life.

The hands-on experience internships offer is very important for many reasons:

1. You need to learn how to apply your knowledge from school
2. You need to be exposed to your field before you graduate so that you become a more desirable candidate for job opportunities
3. You grow (whether in maturity, professionalism, patience, or real life knowledge)

Actually, I didn’t know any of this or cared much for it at first. I decided to intern at my aunt’s work in New York one summer because I needed a change of pace. Amazingly, that opened my eyes and ears, and that is what confirmed my interests in Public Health. Since then, I’ve interned at many places. They all relate to my field in some shape or form. These experiences have given me more insight into the field as well as helped me make up my mind on which aspects of the field I like and don’t like. I realized that I am interested in dealing with global issues and managing health programs, and that’s why I’ve decided to pursue a career in that.

I am currently interning for Hepatitis Foundation International (HFI), and I am loving it. So far, here are several things I have enjoyed the most:

• helping put together a grant proposal
• organizing a health fair
• being involved in presentations about Hepatitis to Embassy staff from different countries
• assisting in hosting a briefing on Capitol Hill, where I met many congressmen/women and health professionals from different fields
• answering the hepatitis hotline and disseminating health information

Tabling & Giving Out Information at Central Union Mission Health Fair

Through every little or big task, I feel that I have learned so much. Most importantly, I have become even more convinced that this is what I am meant to be doing…and I owe it all to my internship experiences, especially my very first one.

I highly encourage all USG students to apply for internships as well.

What’s the worst thing that could happen? You gain something useful you’re not expecting, even if your internship work might turn out to be boring or time-consuming. 🙂

If you’re interested in some local internships, you should check out the Social Sciences & Humanities Fair coming up on October 11th! It’s going to be held in USG’s Multipurpose Room from 11am to 2pm.  You can always keep an eye out for other USG Events and Career Fairs here too.

Give internships a chance! 😉