You Only Need One Yes In a Sea of No’s
I applied for over 175 internships during my undergrad career (yes I counted), and was shot down from all but one. The one I did get was unpaid for the first 9 months, and even after that, pay was intermittent (we were a small startup where cash was never guaranteed). I burned through most of my savings, had to do everything from physical labor in a warehouse to statistical coding to project development, and had 60 miles of driving daily to get to and from work. However, this one internship gave me more real world experience I could have ever imagined, introduced me to so many amazing people, and single-handedly was the deciding factor in my admission to a graduate program where in most other respects (and still in work experience) I was severely under-qualified, so I would say all those rejection emails, phone calls, and letters were all very much worth it in order to get the one yes I really needed.
Tags:
Academics: Environmental Science & Terrestrial Resource Management / Class of 2022
Interests: Sustainability/Conservation/Energy
Identities: he/him
