Internships

Internships are amazing and allow for students to get a first hand look into what it takes to be in a specific field.

I am in search of internships for this summer. I got an offer to be the camp photographer for a YMCA camp. Not only would I be the camp photographer but also a camp counselor. I would be working with around 600 kids every week and teaching them the values of the YMCA, all while taking their photos.

Every day I will edit the pictures and make sure that they look presentable, then post them to a website so that the children's parents can look at he activities they participated in that day.

But even though I have this opportunity now, the process of getting an internship is amazingly stressful. You have to be proactive in your search if you want to have the opportunity. I have been applying for internships since the beginning of December. All of them were for photography/videography jobs.

What I have learned from this process is that you have to have some tough skin. I had several over the phone interviews for internships I really wanted. And when you think they go really well and they might hire you, you get an email saying they went with a different candidate. And that news hurts.

But when one door closes, another one opens. And occasionally you have to keep pushing at the door to force it open.

As a student athlete, it is hard to find an internship that you are qualified for. I don't have as much experience as a lot of normal students do because my time is focus on playing. I have been able to gain more training in my field this year, but it is nowhere near the amount I could have received as a normal student.

And that's one of the hardest things about being a student athlete. Yes, it is amazing that we get our school paid for and we get to play the sport we love. But we also have to give up things such as getting more hands-on work in our field of studies. And that in the end hurts our chances when looking for internships. I think if we were allowed to have summers off in order to gain access to these chances, that would be beneficial for us in the long run.

I am looking for ward to this opportunity I was given and hope to make the most out of it.