Open Thoughts on Being an Intern

The crumpled remains of last years intern. 

I am diseased. Every time I am given an opportunity, I clutch at it like it will solve all of my worries and future problems. But I am diseased to think this, and I am diseased with the thought that I have to say 'yes' constantly plaguing me.

When I accepted an internship with the Frostburg State University News and Media Department, I believed that I would be working on projects--small or large it mattered not--that would make some form of happy change in my life, and informative change in others' lives. 

I, sadly, felt mislead. I let myself feel, and think, that I would somehow be an important part of the News and Media Department, but instead I found myself floundering for intelligent work. Instead, I became "just an intern." 

Those three words, "just an intern," have been said to me time and time again by more than one person in and out of the office I reside in. The back corner office, the office no one wants. The office cluttered with books no one uses, with broken shelving systems and a box full of extra ceiling tile. 

A box of extra ceiling tile and dusty cabinets.

There is a stigma associated with the word "intern." Because you have been hired for an internship--a learning opportunity--with an organization, it seems that you are allowed to be treated as a worthless, replaceable part of that organization. Clearly, you, the intern, do not need money. You do not need to be treated as an equal, because you will never be an equal. You are replaceable, you are not the smartest, most hardworking, most creative. Everything you do can be done better. 

"You're just an intern, so you get stuck with all the crappy jobs."

It seems that businesses believe the relationship between interns and the business to be parasitic rather than symbiotic. Were businesses to view their interns as a need--which they are. Without interns, there lacks a direct line to the future of the company. Some interns come and go, but some have the potential for future hire. An organization would be smart to treat their interns as peers rather than door mats.

People assume that I should be grateful, and I am, but to what extent does being grateful turn into being a fool? Not just any sort of college aged fool, but a fool with her head stuck in the clouds, hoping that her press releases will get noticed by some mighty force, and she will get hired and swept into an exciting world filled with exciting work.

My desk. One of the computers does not work. 

The really sad thing is that I have a really nice, guidance-providing, caring boss. She checks in to see if I have questions, she taught me that in AP Style, press release, journalistic writing, there is no home for the Oxford Comma. I like my boss, I feel useless and unfulfilled as an intern. 

I want to love what work I do. I think that every working person searches for fulfillment. When told that I get "crappy" jobs because I am an intern, I feel like I am unneeded. People strive to feel needed. I am a person, not "just an intern."

I write this openly, with the hope that no one takes vast offense. I have worked two internships and one summer job at a company that, for the sake of their feelings, treated me just like I am often treated as an intern: with disdain when I asked for more work, with irritation when I asked a question, and with the seeming idea in their minds that I am useless because I am replaceable.

Happily, my new boss likes when I ask for more work. She gives actual feedback regarding my press releases, and the work I complete for her. From the open communication, I have gained a sense of fulfillment that I am learning new skills and helping a department so important to Frostburg State University.

After openly communicating with my boss, I gained permission to decorate the office if I wanted, to ask for more work when I needed, and to speak my mind. I am happier.

I think that, and this is something I should have realized in past interning positions, I let myself get swept up in the "just an intern" stigma. Fellow interns, if any of you read this blog, don't be "just an intern." Be more. Be amazing. Be the intern, the worker, you know you can and should be.