After 2.5 weeks spent in Europe with my family, I have returned to California. Thus, my summertime obligations begin now! I write this blog post on a train that will take me to Sacramento, the location of my part-time communications internship with an environmental nonprofit. Today is my first official day in the office working. As I sit here, ruminating, gazing out a window at lovely oil refineries and parched fields of crops at an ungodly hour of the morning, I ask myself an honest question: why am I even doing this in the first place when I’d rather be ___ (sleeping, eating, vegging, etc.)? What even is the purpose of an internship? Shouldn’t I get paid to be up this early?

Admittedly, I am not a morning person, and this grumpy self reflection might have just resulted from the combination of jet lag and a too-early wakeup alarm… but at the same time I do wonder why internships are so vital, and who benefits from them more, the employer or the student.

My friend, who is working in the office of a state assembly member, and I have discussed extensively. She works in an office with seven paid employees and five interns and wondered whether she and her unpaid intern peers were being slighted, when they were working just as hard as employees. She mentioned a pertinent recent NPR broadcast that examines the nuances of unpaid internships, a blessing/burden that many students face.

So who gains the most from such internships?

It’s an important question to ask before accepting one, and the financial burden that might trail such a decision. The answer, of course, is it depends. To me, mind-numbing work like making copies and performing coffee runs, unless you’re interning for the president, isn’t really meaningful or enriching work, and you might as well do the same thing somewhere else where you’ll be paid for your time.

I am paying to ride this train out of my own pocket. If I had ended up renting an apartment in Sacramento to be at my unpaid internship every day of the week, I would have had to pay for that too. “Is it worth it?” The perennial question.

In my case, I feel like the time, effort, and money I am putting in to this essentially volunteer opportunity will pay off in non-monetary ways, despite the fact that I haven’t even really begun yet. My reasons are these:

1. My employers value my help. In the telephone conversations I had with my employers prior to summer, they took my offer to intern with extreme seriousness and gratitude. They told me exactly what they were looking for, exactly what they expected, and exactly they hoped I could accomplish for them. They set up projects for me and gave me legitimate responsibilities, and they were professional and on top of things the whole way through.

2. My employers want this to be a positive learning experience for me. They always ask “is there anything else you’d like to do?” or “what do you hope to gain from this experience?” Such questions and openness to my input reveals their desire that I walk away from this summer with more than just a resume-boost.

3. My location and job description entail hefty responsibilities and promise a never-ending to-do list. I’m working in a nonprofit a block away from the Capitol. Such a job description ensures that I’ll never be bored, or reduced to making copies, as there will always be work to do.

Internships are first and foremost about you, and the skills/experiences you gain. Don’t forget that, and make sure you make the most out of your limited time!