“So Kristina, what have you learned this time?” Whenever my dad asks me this question after I end an internship or any job-related experience, I always believe that he is hoping for some sort of unexpected (brilliant) answer. Maybe this time his daughter has found the ultimate job at a company that may even hire her? Or will she have to live back at home for years after college, become a waitress and hang around her parents?

For the past three summers, I have been lucky enough to have an internship. The summer after my first year of college was spent at a textile company – half the time in Hong Kong, and the other in Shanghai. The fun part was visiting factories and seeing how clothing was actually made. However, the rest of my days consisted of staring at a computer, hoping the Internet would work. Though this internship was far from perfect, I was still able to tell my dad a few things that I learned: sitting for 9 hours at a desk was not as painful as I thought it would be and hand gestures in a foreign country were very useful in communication.

It was the second internship that was the biggest surprise of all. After connecting with alumni through Life Connections, I interned at Teen Vogue for several months in New York City. Of course my first thoughts were: I’m going to work with famous models and celebrities, wearing heels to work is going be great, and I am going to get so much free stuff. Though none of these hopes came true and the dazzling side of the magazine was soon lost in the midst of grunge work and long hours, it was still an experience that I will never forget. I found out that hard work does matter. Be prepared to volunteer (or be asked) to do anything at any moment, and you will be remembered, despite being just one of a slew of interns.

Last summer, I interned at a small environmental company that distributes geothermal heat pumps throughout Asia. After they found out that I was not in fact a graphic designer, they let me make PowerPoints, work with the marketing team, and write up research documents about bottling companies in China. It was the first internship where I felt like I made some sort of tangible impact. I loved that I could sit in meetings and listen to the director speak, watch my colleagues present their ideas, and have my attempts at graphic designing be applauded and then ripped apart.

Though I believe that the last three internship experiences have been valuable, I think they best served at giving me a taste of the post-grad work life and its very unglamorous reality.