It was the time of my life where I decided I needed to get a big kid job. With still another year of schooling, I knew I needed to look for an internship before I graduated and was finally out in the prominent scary place called “the real world.” I remember hearing classmates of mine talking about the fantastic internships they had in prior years. They ranged from Ag in the Classroom interns at there Extension office back home to even as big as interning at SeaWorld. I was so excited to see what internship I would receive.
Fast forward to May of 2019. School is ending, and I still did not have an internship for the summer. What was I going to do? It seemed like everyone had a job lined out for the summer except for me. At this point, I was desperate to find a job anywhere, even if it required me to stay home for the summer. I was still waiting to hear back from one position I had already interviewed for, and the anticipation was getting to me. I finally received an email about the position. This email was going to define my summer. Was I going to be interning, or was I going to be seen as a failure? I nervously opened the email which read they had already filled the position with someone else. I. Was. Devastated. My summer plans had changed tremendously.
Despite the bad news that rendered my upcoming summer, I still had to proceed through my daily life. I continued with my classes and my current job. I step into the office I worked in, and the first thing my boss asked was, “So what did you hear about your internship?” The only thing that was running through my head was the thought of how disappointed she was going to be when I tell her the job we have been talking about for the past three months was nonexistent. I begin talking and before I could spit it out, she says, “I knew you would get it!” While the moment was filled with excitement, I then proceeded to tell her that I was denied the offer. She, too, was surprised with the disappointing fact that I was still did not have an internship for the summer.
After a little more conversing, she says, “Well, I wonder if we, here at Extension, could be your internship?” While I was super grateful for the offer, the job I had creating closed captions for videos did not sound exciting for the whole summer. But I was in desperate need. She did some asking around, and I accepted the internship my boss had offered me. A summer full of creating closed captions was now upon me.
I arrive to work the next week preparing to see the following video my boss wanted me to caption. But instead, when I arrived, she was waiting for me with a whole list of tasks she had planned. I went from someone who knew only the basics of Microsoft Office to working with Articulate and Adobe programs. I had no prior experience with these programs and was pretty incompetent when it came to things like this. But no worries. My boss new and was very patient with me during the learning process. I learned to become pretty proficient with using these programs.
Throughout my internship with Illinois Extension Web Department, I have helped organize and create several online courses for the Certified Crop Adviser website, filmed and edited promotional videos, coincided with smaller projects, and above all, enjoyed my time. I have learned many new skills that will be very beneficial to me when it comes to finding a job in the “real world.” But, most importantly, I learned that sometimes the thing you're looking for is right in front of you.
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