The Crucible: How I’ve Overcome Losing My Internship
2020 has undoubtedly been a crucible. It has been a year of natural disasters, political unrest, social justice movements, and the Covid-19 pandemic. However, in the midst of the chaos, 2020 has also been a year for change and reflection.
Like many others, I lost my internship in the spring. I was on track to work with Macy’s in New York City this summer as a Store Management Intern. After losing my internship, I struggled to find another given that it’s late in the spring and many other companies were also cancelling. I applied to 30 internships in the course of a week and not a single one responded. Instead of giving up, I tapped into my network and now I am interning with Dollaride, a mobility start-up in Brooklyn. Having persevered and pivoted from my original plans, here are my top three takeaways from this crucible:
Stay Strong, Stay Focused, and Stay Ambitious: As we’ve learned in FME, a problem is an opportunity. Use this chaos to fuel your ambitions and bounce back on a new path. It’s simply survival of the fitness. If you survive, you’ve adapted to the change and is one step ahead of everyone who hasn’t.
Tap into your Network: I was struggling with finding a new internship so I decided to give my supervisor from last summer a call and he was more than happy to have me back.
Analyze your Experiences: Is there a trend throughout all of your previous work experiences? I was planning on entering the Fashion and Retail industry after Babson and Macy’s was my gateway to that. However, I’m back with my mobility start-up and after analyzing my past experiences, everything is pointing at Sustainability and Urban Planning. That is why now I am in the process of applying for a Fulbright Scholarship back to Singapore to further discover this industry that I’ve pivoted into.