The Intern Chronicles: Dream Careers

We worked hard on our resumes, applied to every job posting, and stressed over interviews.  But it was all worth it to land our awesome internships!  This is a blog series to highlight the incredible opportunities we had this past summer beginning our careers.  If you worked at an internship this summer, contact us so we can feature your experience in an article! 

Upon returning to BC after summer vacation, I gleefully reunited with my friends, catching up and sharing our summer experiences with one another.  Though I made good money babysitting and working as a camp counselor, my boring (and nonexistent) summer stories were quickly put to shame by a few of my more adventurous friends.  In particular, I was really interested to hear about my good friend Morgan Dove, A&S ’14, and the internship she secured through a program called Dream Careers.
 
Morgan first found out about the Dream Careers program through her older sister, who also participated in the program this past summer in New York City.  Just coming out of her freshman year at BC, Morgan didn’t have any previous internship experience and had limited work experience.  This program was perfect- it guaranteed her an internship, while also allowing her to learn more about resume building, interviewing, and networking- all while receiving academic credit.  Now, I know what you’re thinking: a guaranteed internship?  Why, that does sound like a dream.  Well, there is a small catch.  First, you must apply to the program and only upon acceptance are you guaranteed an internship.  Also, there is tuition to the program, which goes towards housing, meals, transportation, and planned activities and events.
 
Once you’re accepted to the program, you begin by choosing your destination from a list of 11 domestic and international locations (New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., San Francisco, London, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Sydney).  Then you begin to search for your internship.  There are over 5,000 internships among 30 different industries to choose from, each eight weeks long.  Once you decide the industry that you would like to intern with, your internship coordinator will help you perfect your interview skills and polish your resume in order to land an internship at the company of your choice. 

Morgan and the whole Boston group in front of Boston Commons.

Interestingly, Morgan is from the Boston area and decided to do her internship in Boston anyway.  When I asked her why she made this decision, Morgan explained, “I had just completed my freshman year of college, so I wanted to be able to both enjoy the program, but also have the option to see my friends and family from home. Surprisingly, I ended up spending all but one of my weekends in the city with my new friends from the program.”  Morgan’s program stayed in the Emerson dorms right in the heart of Boston on Boylston Street.  It seems that living close to Boston is completely different than actually living in Boston!  Morgan only planned on taking advantage of the seminars and her internship, but participating in events and trips with the other kids in her program turned out to be one of the best parts about Dream Careers for her.  She became really close with the students in the program, as they went to Red Sox games and shows like the Blue Man Group together, and even a trip to Martha’s Vineyard.  In addition to the other students, Morgan says that the staff members she met during the Boston program were personable, approachable, and always available.

Morgan and her friends celebrating the night of the Bruins big victory!

So now that I’ve probably discussed every detail except Morgan’s internship, let me explain Morgan’s internship!  An Economics major and Math minor, and #1 tech nerd in my heart, Morgan worked at Karmaloop, an online streetwear company.  She was a Merchandising Intern, writing and entering product descriptions for the new items that came in daily.  She also ended up meeting with the heads of the Information Technology and Marketing departments, as well as the Director of Digital Marketing and E-Commerce at Karmaloop.  Morgan knew that her options were somewhat limited since she had little previous experience, but she really enjoyed her work and learned a lot about different industries, while also forming great new relationships.  She even secured an internship opportunity in a different department at Karmaloop that she’ll hopefully be able to pursue this school year!
 
*Side note: Morg, I encourage you to take this opportunity and use it to your (my) advantage so you (I) can buy lots of cool clothes from Karmaloop on your discount!
 
Now Morgan is working as a Campus Marketing Intern for Dream Careers, helping to get the word out about the program to students at Boston College.  She was really eager to accept this position, knowing that a lot of BC students are interested in securing an internship, growing their network, and gaining knowledge about how to succeed in business, however they may not be aware of programs like Dream Careers that can provide opportunities like this.  You also get to explore a new city (or in Morgan’s case, get really acquainted with a familiar city)!  Morgan emphasizes, “Heading back to school this fall, I was much more confident in choosing my major since I was able to gain real working experience in several different industries.  I have also built up my network with students and staff members from the program, employees at Karmaloop, and speakers from the seminars.”  
 
So basically, the moral of the story is Morgan spent her summer working at an awesome internship, while I pushed annoying pre-schoolers on swings in the blaring hot sun until I was “allowed to stop.”  If Dream Careers sounds like something you’d be interested in next summer, don’t hesitate to contact Morgan!
 
Email: morgan.dove@bc.edu
Facebook: /mdove15
LinkedIn: /mdove15
Dream Career website: http://www.summerinternships.com/
Photo Source:
Morgan Dove