You Determine Your Internship, Education, and Career
Perhaps the most important part of an internship and life in general is asking questions. I learned this lesson (yet again) in my internship with The Melanoma Foundation of New England. Before the halfway mark of my internship, most of our focus was on marketing, surveying, and sales. While those skills are important, I wanted to do more work that was geared toward what I hope will be my career. The best thing I did in my internship was ask to do more work with financials. My boss was immediately encouraging and wrote an email to the treasurer of our organization. Once I got connected with him, I was working on a project that I felt excited about and proud to present to our board. I’m so happy that I am able to add that project to my portfolio (and my LinkedIn) and that I was able to make a new connection that could be helpful in the future. I encourage anyone that is in any level of schooling or at any point in their career to reflect on the work they are doing now. If you are not motivated or feel as though your potential is not being used, go to your teacher, professor, mentor, or boss. The worst that could happen is that someone says no and you’re back where you were before. Babson is all about thinking creatively to make a space for yourself that did not exist before. By simply asking questions, you are challenging the boundaries of your educational system or your career, which is never a failure.