What’s your favorite thing about your hometown? Do you have an answer? Because when my freshman orientation leader asked us to introduce ourselves with our name, major, and something we love about where we’re from, I was genuinely shocked when I couldn’t come up with a single answer. It wasn’t because I hated the place I call home; I had just never thought about it as a place that you could love. I mean, who loves Central New York, right? There are so many things not to like, everything from the long miserable winters, to seeing someone you know every time you leave your house. At least that’s what I thought when I moved into college back in August of 2024. It didn’t take long for my perspective to change though. It turns out that moving somewhere new and meeting hundreds of new people from all over the world will give you a new perspective on the environment that made you who you are.
What factors do you consider when you’re making one of the biggest decisions of your life? For me, there were three major qualities that I thought about when deciding to go to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and again when choosing to intern at Indium Corporation, the first being the people. Because I am from a small town, when I decided that I wanted to go to RIT, making sure I had likeminded people around me was a must. This was heavily reflected when I chose my roommate. When I found her on the RIT class of 2029 Instagram page, I noticed that we had most of the same interests. Not only was she also a mechanical engineering major, but she was also a dancer, enjoyed all the same music as me, and we had very similar personalities. We decided to be roommates and luckily for me, she’s been my roommate and closest friend at school ever since then.
My determination to surround myself with compatible people also played a role when I chose to intern at Indium Corporation. My biggest fear was joining a company that didn’t care about me or the impact that I would make, but I am happy to say that Indium Corporation could not be more different. Over the first couple of weeks, I have still not talked to a single new person that wasn’t excited to meet me. Even if it’s just for a short elevator ride, I am greeted with a “Hi! You must be an intern, what’s your name?” They’ll go on to ask me about the work I’m doing and if I am enjoying my time here. It was truly so nice to walk in on my first day and realize that the “Indium Way” wasn’t just something to read on the website.
As I mentioned, there are three major factors that are important to me when making big decisions. The second area that influenced my decisions was the opportunities I would encounter. For RIT, I looked at everything from the teaching staff to professional development possibilities to what kind of connections I would make, and I am happy to say that I have seen the benefits of each area. From amazing professors to the world class co-op program, to amazing extracurriculars, I have made the best of my experience at RIT. For Indium Corporation, my experience was a little different. I still looked into the major influences, but I was already aware of the immense number of opportunities that Indium Corporation offers from knowing and talking about the experience with previous interns. I knew that their interns engaged in everything from volunteering days to being able to meet and work with company officials, to shadowing and looking into the many areas and departments that help them function. Just in my first couple of weeks, I have already seen each of those aspects play a part in everyday life here. All of that to say, finding a school and a company that cares about your success just as much as you do is vital to having a positive experience.
The third and final factor that I cared about when choosing my school and my internship was the environment. For college I considered, how would I enjoy my time there? Are there a lot of things to do and clubs to join? Would I be comfortable in my classrooms? Luckily, I have enjoyed myself there very much. From classroom environments filled with collaboration and friendly faces to every extracurricular you can think of, the overall environment of campus is overwhelmingly pleasant. I found that the things that I like to do at school are surprisingly similar to my favorite activities when I am home. Finding the activities that you want to be involved in on campus is also critical for the quality of your experience. Personally, I enjoy representing clubs from a multitude of disciplines. Not only am I the Vice President of a professional development club aimed at supporting women in STEM, but I am also one of the choreographers for the biggest dance company on campus. For Indium Corporation, I wondered similarly, how would I enjoy my time there? Would I enjoy my work? Will this be a good first professional experience? Thankfully, I don’t think I could have chosen a better first internship. From the people, to our lunch-and-learns, to the work I am doing, I would describe my experience at Indium Corporation so far as time very well spent. All in all, even if you’re not looking at schools or trying to decide where to complete your first internship, I think it is important to assess the areas of your environment that help you thrive and incorporate them into your life as much as possible.
Now I know what you are probably thinking, “Claire, what does enjoying your experiences have to do with finding what you love about your hometown?” Let me recap what I find the most enjoyable about school and my internship in three short phrases. The tight-knit community, a place that cares about my success, and an environment that fosters a collaboration of creativity and professionalism. When reflecting on my experience, I questioned what those statements all had in common. I concluded that those were the things I appreciated the most because they reminded me of my home. I realized that I actually liked seeing someone I knew every time I left my house because it made me feel safe. I liked going to a high school that wanted me to do great things because it challenged me to be better, and I liked the fact that I could be creative and still enjoy STEM because it proved that I could be well-rounded. Ultimately, it took me leaving my hometown to find something different to really understand that the thing I lacked for my home wasn’t love, it was appreciation.
If there is one thing that I have learned from my fellow interns so far, it’s that everyone has a different story. Some of us traveled thousands of miles from home and some stayed close to where they started. Some follow a straight-line path while others take some unexpected turns along the way. But no matter where we come from or how we ended up here, there is a place for all of us in Central New York. Just look at us interns. We come from schools across the country studying everything from engineering to psychology to finance. Our backgrounds, experiences, and goals are different, but for one summer we all found a home at Indium Corporation. Just like multiple roads lead to the same place, our different experiences, choices, and journeys can lead us to the same opportunities. As my sixth-grade math teacher used to remind us whenever we solved a problem differently than she expected, “There’s more than one way to get to Walmart.” Looking back on my journey and the choices I’ve made and seeing the journeys of those around me, I think she was right. So, if I could go back to my orientation leader and tell her one thing that I love about my hometown, it would be that it gave me the foundation for the road I’ve traveled on. Every one of my experiences, choices, and opportunities along the way started there, and for that, I couldn’t be more grateful.
