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Michael Fenton
Life > Experiences

The Power of an Internship

Brooke Johnpier
The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

If you haven’t started looking for your internship yet, do it. Start as soon as you’re done reading this article, because trust me when I tell you that it will be one of the best things you will ever do. 

For my chosen major and school of choice here at St. Bonaventure, I have to have 400+ hours of internship time. 100 of those hours can be completed on campus, but that means I still need 300+. I’m going for the plus part because the internship that I chose has changed me forever. 

About a month and a half ago, I chose my internship. It couldn’t be closer to my dream internship. The only thing that would make it better is if the opportunity was paid. 

At my internship, which is an online motorsports media outlet, I get to cover NHRA as well as professional dirt racing by writing articles. So far, it’s just recaps, but I’m really good at recaps so I’m getting great feedback. Plus, this is what I want to do for a living so it’s great practice. Double plus, I don’t even feel like I’m working because I’m doing what I love. 

But, my boss also needed some help with social media. Now, I never thought in a million years that I would be on a social media team for a media outlet, let alone be the one promoting most of the articles that are written. But here we are. Let me tell you, it’s fun. I like promoting articles on Facebook and Instagram and making stories on the latter. It’s not something I’d ever think I’d ever do, but I am, and I’m getting internship hours for it, so, woo-hoo. 

All I can say is you need to find your internship now for whatever school/major you’re in. I fully believe that you should start it as a freshman like me so that you’ll have a ton of time to get your hours done, learn those valuable skills and make the connections and network that you need succeed in your chosen field of work. 

I don’t care if you’re an accounting major or literary publishing and editing major; you need to find your internship now. Or at least be actively looking. I can promise you that as soon as you start work within it, your life will change. You’ll sign up to do something (like me), or you’ll be assigned to do something that you’re not used to doing. And from that little thing, you will learn a new skill and realize that you either like it or don’t. But no matter what, that thing will have an impact on you, and so will the rest of the internship. 

You also will make lifelong connections with people that will speak highly of you. When your future employers call them, or email them asking about you because you used them as one of your references, they’ll tell your future boss that you were great and that you did blank and that they recommend you to any job you’re applying for, etc., etc. You won’t get that treatment unless you get an internship and unless you allow the power of the internship to wash over you. 

In conclusion, an internship will change your life forever. You will be doing things you never thought possible, and you will gain so much knowledge from it. Once again, if you haven’t started looking for your internship, do it NOW! 

Brooke Johnpier is a contributor to the SBU chapter of Her Campus. She writes about the more "manly" topics of the site, including automotive, motorsports, mechanical, technical, DIY, and anything hands-on. Brooke is also using this platform as her personal blog, of which she will talk about more personal things that she feels the world should hear about. Besides Her Campus, Brooke is a part-time motorsports journalist for Speedway Illustrated, a columnist for Race Pro Weekly and Dirt Track Digesr, and a staff writer as well as a social media promoter for The Podium Finish, where she is interning. Brooke is also a writer for TAPinto Greater Olean, WSBU The Buzz, and PolitiFact NY. Brooke is also involved with St. Bonaventure's literary magazine, The Laurel. Brooke is currently a sophomore at St. Bonaventure University where she is majoring in Sports Media with minors in Native American and Indigenous Studies & English. You can also find Brooke working as an assistant in the Koop Lab and upstairs in the office, making her money. In her free time, Brooke loves reading, going to the local racetrack, riding four-wheelers, working on cars, and riding in tractor trailers. Brooke is a music lover, and will talk about most any genre, especially her favorites which are rock and rap. Brooke is also a percussionist, a published author, and a women's rights activist. Brooke is also a member of several lineage organizations, and currently holds a national position in one of them. As well as writing for campus media, Brooke is involved with Faith in Fiction, Jandoli Women in Communication, the History Club, College Democrats, and the Indigenous Student Confederacy. A fun fact about Brooke is that she was the only female to ever be in the top 5% of the Automotive Technology class at the trade school she attended in her junior and senior years of high school.