I imagine that many students coming out of college find it difficult to transition from the classroom to the workplace. This internship has taught me so much that I haven’t learned at school. In my opinion, when applying for jobs after college it’s the experiences you have outside of the classroom that set you apart from the competition. Indium Corporation has done a more than spectacular job at giving me a taste of what it’s like to have a real job.
This very much relates to my transitioning from high school to college. I went to Holland Patent high school, which is a public school. My senior year rolled around and I was being recruited to ski race for Northwood School, which is a prep school in Lake Placid, NY. I was psyched, and wanted to attend Northwood to be more successful in ski racing. Long story short I got everything I wanted, and ended up going D1 for downhill alpine ski racing. But, in that year at boarding school, I went through some challenges. The first month of attending Northwood School was very difficult for me, the biggest change was the fact that I was living with my family my whole life, and then I wasn’t anymore. While at Northwood, all of my friends that I grew up with were 2 hours away. I couldn’t go home from school, I couldn’t see my dad when he got home from work; my life was turned upside down. A couple of weeks went by and I started to get used to my new lifestyle. One more week went by and I started to like it. All of a sudden, that was my way of life and I totally adapted to the 180-degree change that happened a month previously. Northwood became my home away from home, I was only there for 8 months but I owned that 8 months. When graduation rolled around, a few of my teachers came up to me and said that even though I was there for such a short time, I left a pretty big impact on Northwood and they would always remember me.
Northwood gave me a huge confidence boost when transitioning from high school to college; it was a stepping stone from one side of the river to the other. I was prepared for college life, it was easy for me. So what does this have to do with my internship? Well, this internship is a stepping stone between college, and getting a real job after I graduate. I feel extremely prepared and ready to take on the challenges of starting my career.
Overall, I think it’s very important to take full advantage of all of the resources available to you. This internship has taught me what it’s like to go to work every day at a great company with great people; now that’s something you can’t learn in a classroom. Indium Corporation isn’t lying when they say their program isn’t your average internship.