Coffee, Coffee, Coffee: Finding Warm Comfort During Finals

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Emily G.

Earlier this week, I found myself attempting to count sheep and invite sleep at 3:00am with no luck. I was exhausted, but my eyes wouldn’t stay shut, and my brain simply wouldn’t turn off. Finals and projects and papers and homework and assignment after assignment danced behind by closed eyelids. As I continuously tried to slip into dreamland to prepare for my early morning internship, I found myself craving a good cup of coffee. Strange, I thought, that I would be craving something to keep me awake as I was falling asleep. After another few minutes of pondering, I realized that it wasn’t caffeine that I was craving, it was the comfort of a warm, familiar beverage at a time of stress and anxiety. I eventually fell asleep and enjoyed my cup o’ joe in the morning.

Continuing with this coffee theme, yesterday at my internship there were a variety of new faces and protocols coming at me from left and right. I felt overwhelmed and stressed (likely brought on from dehydration, exhaustion, and a plethora of other factors that seem to plague me in these dark days), and I once again felt myself craving coffee, a comfy chair, and a warm blanket. Like a ray of sun shining through my cloudy, anxious morning, I was then literally sent on an office coffee run for the first time in my intern career, and I won’t lie, my triple shot latte made me feel warm, fuzzy, and wired.

These types of comfort cravings have been happening a lot lately. I find myself thinking about warm places, blankets, and other aspects of comfort constantly. With finals just around the corner, and final projects and papers and everything in between popping up every hour, a little bit of comfort is all my body seems to want, need, and crave. Because instilling in myself a sense of comfort can often come from something as simple as a cup of coffee or tea or a blanket, I’ve been really trying this finals season to give myself the security that I’ve been craving.

And with that, I reach my big point of this post. We spend so much of the semester and our academic year being uncomfortable. Our ideas are constantly challenged, we are academically pushed, and we can even be socially strained at times. I do believe that we are all the stronger because of these things, but it doesn’t mean that we are invincible. In a space where we are so stressed and overwhelmed, the small moments of undeluded comfort are things that we should take, cherish, and enjoy. Self-care and mental and emotional health are so important always, but finals week is typically when they start to go down the drain. As the lack of sleep and the heightened feelings of anxiety and stress kick in, we tend to go into survival mode, but survival mode needn’t be wholly terrible. This finals week, I know that you’re already being challenged so much, but still I challenge you to find comfort in the little things. Find comfort in the things that make you happy, find comfort in the things that bring you joy, and take that comfort and turn it in to hard work and passion, and finish the semester on a high note.

Here’s to a productive and proactive finals season, and I wish you all the best of luck. Have a good cup of coffee under a blanket for me!

The Informational Interview

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Alyssa

I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m shy. I usually wait to raise my hand in class until I know everyone else has spoken at least once, I cower at the sight of a group presentation on any syllabus, and I’d rather write a twenty page research paper than have an oral final. As much as I know that professors are always happy to help when I have questions, I shirk office hours unless absolutely necessary (but I promise I’m working on this).

So, if there’s a phrase more terrifying to me than ‘group project,’ it’s ‘networking’.

ms-yz7zk7 This summer, I interned with an environmental law firm in DC, and developed a warm relationship with my boss, Amanda. I was confident and comfortable discussing projects in her presence, but as soon as the conversation moved to the conference room with the other staff attorneys, I froze up. At the handful of different forums and conferences I attended where there were a plethora of accomplished people in the realm of environmental issues at my fingertips, I shrank back to the corners of the room and tried to make myself invisible.

I could convince you (and often try to convince myself) that my hesitation is due to a lack of experience in the field, and the fact that I look more like a freshman in high school than a working professional. Those definitely are part of my timidness. But the truth is, I’m mostly terrified of actually approaching someone I have never met before.

Usually, I just end up having an anxious conversation with the voice in my head instead of with a real person: “Isn’t it weird to walk up to someone? What do I say? Should I ask them a question? What would I even ask? Maybe I could small talk? Won’t they just think I’m wasting their time?”

So after a summer of failed attempts, networking was at the top of my avoid-at-all-costs list. At least, that’s what I thought, until my mom told me I should consider going for an ‘informational interview’ with a few of the organizations I had applied to intern with over the summer, with two of her colleagues, and with the mom of one of my brother’s baseball teammates who works at NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association).

Despite relentless reminders of the great opportunity this would be for me to explore, hear others’ experiences, and garner an understanding for industries I may be interested in, I vehemently discredited the idea.

Why would anyone want take the time to sit down with a random college student they don’t know and who doesn’t know much about what she wants herself? Aren’t interviews supposed to be about actually getting a job, and not just talking about them?

After thinking about it for a while, (and of course, talking to my mom) it eventually set in that in the long run, it is worth it to get over my initial fear of approaching someone new for the opportunity to hear about and learn from others’ experiences. The introvert in me is still furiously dragging her feet, but I can’t sit in the corner of the conference room forever.

I am drafting an email now to get in touch with the woman who has worked with communications and environmental policy issues at NOAA, and just happened to be an English major – all avenues that I am looking into at the moment! I also registered to attend CP&R’s Speed Networking Workshop during Life After Scripps, so I will have faced the two things tied for number one on my avoid-at-all costs list.

Wish me luck – and keep your fingers crossed that I won’t chicken out at the last minute. I will let you know how it goes!

Debunking Internship Myths

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Emily G.

Internships are full of surprises and can be shrouded in mystery. We think we know what we are getting ourselves into, but often times, internships end up being completely different than we expected. Keep reading to unpack some common internship misconceptions and hopefully learn something along the way!

Internships are “one size fits all.”

The entertainment industry has portrayed internships in movies, tv shows, novels, and basically every other publicly consumed medium. Growing up, I always thought that an internship was a highly coveted position that involved picking up coffee and dry cleaning. I now know that this isn’t necessarily the case. Some internships may involve balancing three trays of Starbucks drinks while running around making copies, but there are internships that involve video editing, phone banking, and even assisting in surgery. All internships provide immense amounts of career insight and experience, but they are a lot less formulaic than we are commonly led to believe.

Asking questions will make you seem like “the stupid intern.”

There are a few damaging stereotypes that can surround the idea of the workplace intern: overworked, incompetent, annoying, and useless. These words couldn’t be farther from the truth when it comes to interns! Interns are some of the most engaged, thoughtful, and dedicated people in the business. The purpose of an internship is to LEARN. In order to do this, you have to ask questions and figure out the ins and outs of a workplace. There is a learning curve, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t qualified to be there. Asking questions doesn’t make you annoying, it makes you engaged and interested. Yes, you probably will be overworked, but hopefully in the best way possible. Don’t worry about the unfounded beliefs about your position, and go in each day willing to work your hardest and break down those unflattering stereotypes.

Being an unpaid intern means that you aren’t qualified for a paid position.

Unpaid internships are still exist in the working world today. Although more companies are paying interns, unpaid opportunities are still a very common way to gain career experience, and often can lead to a paid position at a place of work. Many times, it seems an intern does the same amount (if not more!) work than an official employee. Just because you are not being paid to be there doesn’t mean that you aren’t valued. You had the skills to get the internship, and you will develop the skills to be employed in that field, if you don’t already have them. As much as employers benefit from having you there, you also benefit from taking an unpaid internship. Your internship is a time for you to learn about a prospective career path and decide if it’s right for you. You are there to gain experience and refine your career goals, and who knows, you might even end your internship with an official job offer!

Interns are disposable, and if you mess up, you’re out.

While this may be true with some internships, the general truth is that the place that you are interning probably is in need of an intern and their primary role should be to teach you. Businesses use interns for a variety of purposes, and typically they are in need of an extra set of hands. They aren’t usually going to throw out that extra person just because some documents weren’t collated properly. It’s okay to make mistakes, and if you butcher something, it’s going to be fine, more often than not. Employers appreciate honesty and dedication, and they understand that sometimes mistakes happen. As long as you are up front about and understanding of what went wrong, it’s fairly likely that they will be too.

Finally, a fact about internships:

5. Interning is one of the best things you can do.

For better or for worse, internships provide incredible career experience. Even a “bad” internship can show you what you do and do not want from your future career and that is invaluable. Internships are full of learning opportunities, and you don’t only learn about jobs, you learn about yourself. Internships can be difficult and stressful, but you grow and evolve as an employee and person in the big working world. So next time you are offered an internship, go ahead and say yes! Your future self will be glad that you did.

My First Internship: A Walk Down Memory Lane

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Emily

When I walked into the animal shelter veterinary clinic in Camarillo, CA at 10:00am on Tuesday, May 27, 2014, my hands were shaking. It was the first day of my first animal care internship. My mind was racing, questions buzzing through nervously. What is it going to be like? Will the people be nice? What am I going to do here? What am I going to learn? Are they going to be willing to teach me? Am I cut out for this? Is veterinary medicine the right career path? My eyes were wide, and butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I waited anxiously with the barking, happily recovering dogs in the dog ward.

After a few minutes, one of the veterinary technicians came in and introduced himself. He told me that the office was already chaotic and busy (I would soon discover and love that every day was a whirlwind of surgeries and exams), and that the entire staff was happy to have me there to help. He led me into the main exam room where I met Dr. Heather Skogerson and the other vet technicians. Dr. Heather welcomed me with a smile and a tour of the clinic, and then set me to work.

The events of my first day were a blur of vaccinating kittens, helping with dog and cat exams, and learning the ropes and procedures of the clinic. I spent time bottle feeding underage, orphaned kittens in the nursery and observing spay/neuter surgeries. I watched lost animals come in and adopted animals go home. By the time I went on my lunch break at 2:00pm, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life healing animals.

At the end of the day, I was tired and sore, but more energized than ever before. I couldn’t stop smiling when I got home, and all I wanted to do was talk about my amazing new internship.

I spent the summer observing and scrubbing in on surgeries to repair eyes, limbs, and everything in between, administering medications to make sick animals well again, changing bandages to keep healing wounds free from infection, vaccinating so that healthy animals would stay healthy, counseling adopters to help find forever families for our animals, and becoming a foster and adopted parent to three orphaned kittens who stole my heart as well as my bed. I became an integral part of the veterinary clinic and formed lasting relationships with my mentors and teachers there.

My first internship was an eye opening glance into the world past college. I saw what a “real job” looked like in a chaotic and high pressure workplace. I jumped in and learned through hands on experience. I realized that it was okay to be nervous and unsure, and I was able to channel that nervous energy into productive work energy. I asked questions at every given chance, and I turned mistakes into learning opportunities. Most importantly, I saw where I wanted to be in 10 years. I finally had an answer to that dreaded interview question, and I vividly remember the relief that I felt. Veterinary medicine was and is the career path for me, and internships have taught me with countless lessons along the path toward my goal. I am so thankful for the valuable, heartwarming, and funny experiences that I’ve collected, and I look forward to sharing more stories with you this semester!

Now it’s your turn! What was your first internship was like? How was your first day? I want to hear about it, so comment below and share!

How to Crunch When Things Get Crunchy

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Dorie

It’s finally here: Crunchtime. Colloquially referred to as “hell week” on school campuses across the country, we’ve reached that point in the semester when it seems like literally everything that could possibly be due has suddenly made itself known to you–like the Murphy’s Law of due dates, if you will. Not only that, but it’s also that same time of year when students begin to hear back from all of the various opportunities they have applied for, such as jobs, grad school, spring/summer programs, etc., adding yet another thing to weigh on our already very occupied minds. Sometimes I find myself looking around at everyone around me doing all of these amazing things and working their butts off, and find it hard to believe that another whole semester has passed without even realizing it. It happens each and every year, but it always manages to catch me off guard.

This is how I feel when I think about how much I have left to do this week……slow zoom and all.

Obviously, not everyone is going to have the same “hell week” experience–it really depends on how many finals you have scheduled, how you’ve managed your time thus far, if you’re doing thesis, etc. But, from what I have gathered, the last few weeks of the fall semester are generally not the most pleasant of times for the vast majority of students. The worst part of all of this, for me, is that it’s not even that cold yet! Hello!?!!? It’s December! I just want to start busting out my various holiday sweaters I’ve been preparing to wear every single day of the week! But alas, not even a cold winter chill can assuage the end-of-semester funk I’ve been in the past few days.

Fun fact: Jimmy totally raided my closet for this segment.

A lot of this stems from the fact that, as a senior, I (still) don’t really know what I’m doing after I graduate. Many of my peers are just now receiving news–both good and not so good, as is to be expected–that will start them on their post-grad paths to becoming the accomplished, successful women and men that will change the world someday….or something along those lines. Point is, it can feel kind of discouraging to look around and see such great successes happening all around you, especially if you’re still waiting to hear back from wherever, you didn’t get the news you were hoping for, or if you just haven’t had enough time to focus on anything other than your school work this semester. This is not to say that all of these feelings aren’t valid things to be feeling. On the contrary! Take it from me, the queen of letting things pile up–these are all very legitimate concerns to have, and should be treated as such. Don’t lessen your own needs by comparing them to the needs of other people around you, because it’s not all that helpful for anyone involved.

Thanks, Most Interesting Man In The World. I believe in you, too.

As I’ve said, this time of year is when emotions can run particularly high, so the added pressures of “getting it all together” can often make you start to question a lot of things that you’ve done up to this point–have I taken the right classes? Should I have spent more time on that last essay? Did I apply for enough jobs? Could I be doing more? As far as the last question goes, the short answer is, yes, we can always be doing more. Long answer? We certainly can always be doing more, but the real question instead is: is do we need to be doing more? For example, there will always more opportunities to apply for, that’s for sure, but just because they exist doesn’t mean they are the right kinds of opportunities for you. Sure, there will likely be some disappointments as you start to hear back from internships, summer jobs, and even study abroad programs, but that doesn’t mean something else isn’t waiting for you somewhere else. That’s why resources like CP&R are so helpful, especially when the existential what-am-I-doing and how-do-I-adult kinds of questions start to come about, usually during stressful times such as these.

Ok but seriously, how do you adult?? Did I miss the instructional booklet that accompanies growing up?? Taxes?? Mortgages? What are THOSE???

The point is, when the going gets crunchy, you gotta crunch right back. This means working hard, taking care of yourself, celebrating with your friends when they get the good news they are hoping for, and consoling them if things don’t work out. Be excited for the cool things that your peers will be doing after they graduate, but don’t put yourself down if you’re not quite there yet. We’re all at such different places in our lives–be it in terms of our majors and intended fields of study and work, or emotionally and mentally–it wouldn’t make sense for us all to be doing the same kinds of things anyway. So, for now, focus up and finish up this semester the best you can. For my fellow seniors finishing up their thesis projects, we got this! It’s not like we have choice, but we’re almost there and its gonna be awesome! To everyone preparing for their finals and projects, and those starting to apply for jobs and internships next year, keep on keepin’ on–you got this too, believe me.

Just think: winter break is only a few weeks away, and then we can all sleep in as late as we want~! Talk about a great reward for all of our hard work 🙂

BRING ON THE CAT NAPS!!!

Beyond the Elms

Exploring Careers with Scripps Students

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