As a second-year at the University of Chicago, I can contest to the incredible amount of pressure students are under to engage in worthwhile activities during the summer. Countless times I have witnessed my friends (and myself) undergo what I like to call “the mid-year crisis,” in which the rest of one’s life appears to depend on the very plans one will have next summer. Symptoms may include some of the following:
– Getting an impending feeling that your time between being a student and entering the real world is growing smaller and smaller
– Coming to believe that all your self-worth lies on whether or not you will be getting a grant, internship, fellowship, etc. and that the lack of one will result in the halt of respect from your friends and family
– Fearing the possibility that the “freshmen 15” you never gained will actually be achieved by sitting at home and watching Jersey Shore all summer
– Having racing thoughts that because you will not get an internship, you will never be able to find a job after college and will therefore have to resort to living in a box in the Main Quad—but that on the bright side you will always have squirrels to keep you company
Fear not! Summers are what you make of them. There is still time to look for academic or career-oriented opportunities over the summer.
For one, many people are not aware that Metcalf internships are replenished throughout the year. These are great opportunities given by a variety of employers in a wide array of fields. The best part is that they allot students a generous living stipend for the time they are committed to the internship.
Another great way to hear about available opportunities is by joining list hosts that are relevant to your interests. This year CAPS has done an exceptional job at opening up its Chicago Careers In programs. They regularly send out e-mails with various opportunities in the city for you to look into and even provide support in the application process. Major-specific list hosts can provide you with similar useful data.
Resources outside of the school network are also available and very valuable. It never hurts going directly to the source. If your interests lie in history or anthropology, go directly to museum websites and check out what opportunities are available. Databases such as idealist.org also exist in which several different agencies will post positions they are looking to fill.
Contacting organizations that you are interested in back in your hometown is also worth a try. Because they are located in an environment that you know, this a great way to get involved in your community and gain insight you may not have had before.
Below are links that will be useful in your search. These tools are here to facilitate your internship hunt, not to overwhelm you or further deepen your symptoms.
– https://caps.uchicago.edu/undergrads/internships/
– https://caps.uchicago.edu/chicagocareers.shtml
– http://www.idealist.org/
– http://dcjobsource.com/ilinterns.html
– http://www.chicagohistory.org/aboutus/jobsvolunteering/internships
– http://omsa-opportunities.blogspot.com/
– http://omsa.uchicago.edu/opportunities/undergrad.shtml
– http://www.makingthedifference.org/federalinternships/studentjobs.shtml
Even if you decide to not to do an internship, there are many ways you can make your summer fulfilling, such as volunteering, getting a summer job, or even traveling. Whatever happens, try to find ways to make good use of your summer and explore your interests. For example, if you enjoy spending your summer outdoors, hiking, or kayaking, consider a career in the field of conservation or environmental science. You might just end up making a great realization about your future!