“Be Open! Don’t limit yourself! Reach out to alumni! Find your connections! NETWORK!!!”  These are the phrases that come to most people’s minds when they think about our Career Center. And this is all good advice however, it is not always necessary to find positions that will help you advance your career goals.

This summer I had the chance to work for a PR company in New York City called Strauss Media Strategies Inc. At first I didn’t know what I was getting into. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to have an internship that summer. Around three weeks after I started my internship, my boss asked me to help someone from the Washington D.C. office with an international project; I was to correct a French press release, send it to Moroccan radio stations and then call the stations to make sure they got our information. All of this in French.

Now, my French at that point had not been in use for two months and even then I was still in French 230.  I was beyond nervous. I briefly considered skipping work that day because I was TERRIFIED.

My first phone call went great; they hung up on me in less than five seconds. On the second call I was able to introduce myself and (somewhat) have a conversation. By the third call I was confident that I was the right person for the job, and for the first time in my internship career, I felt that I had truly helped the Strauss team.

Was I open? Not at first. Did I limit myself? No. I think one of the main reasons I was able to succeed at my internship was that I took a risk. I decided not to skip work. I decided to fight my fear and, despite everything my French professors have told me, correct someone else’s press release. The night before I had to make my international calls, I stayed up until 2 a.m. revising the document. I wanted it to be perfect. This meant that the next day I was super-tired, but also proud. Proud of the fact that I was able to correct someone else’s work and that I advanced Strauss Media Strategies’ goal. In that particular moment more than at any other time during my internship, I was part of the team. However, this took commitment. Internships take commitment because you are part of a team and you are helping other people. Something I did not realize before my time at Strauss.

Before I proceed with my other points, I want to make something clear. This is not, in any way, an article against the Career Center. The Career Center is here to help us with amazing resources. They help with cover letters and résumés, they provide us with spaces for interviews, however, they also have certain faults.

In my opinion, the coaches sometimes over-stress the importance of networking and using family connections. I am from Europe, which means that I have zero professional ties in the United States. Every time I have attended a Career Center event, I was always scared that I would never find an internship without at least one family member who would give me a job. I think Dickinson is a very diverse place and you can make amazing connections with your peers. You may even get an internship or job due to these relationships. However, you can also find positions by yourself.

If you are like me, someone with a very limited number of professional connections, I want you to take the Career Center’s advice seriously, but also keep in mind that you are capable of finding positions. Would it be easier if you had a family friend working in your preferred industry? Of course it would be. However, with hard work and a little bit of creativity, people like us can find amazing opportunities as well! Who knows, you may even work with the U.S. elections. After all, I never imagined that I would work with the Democratic National Convention…

So take the Career Center seriously. Do the work. Stay committed. Network. But also keep in mind that you are at an amazing educational institution. You are more than capable of finding places without the aid of networking. Just do the work and stay committed. Those are, in my experience, the most important part of the internship finding process.