Trinity Students Learn How to Get the Most Out of the Summer Internship

By Haylee Rodriguez

Lunch and Learn on summer internship. 

Photo by Haylee Rodriguez

You have a summer internship: now what? This was the question addressed at a panel discussion on Friday held by the Center for Experiential Learning & Career Success.

The panel, with two Trinity alumni and two current Trinity students, led a discussion on how summer internships can be used to reach students’ individual professional goals.

Kelly Wright, a Trinity graduate, was excited for the opportunity to talk to students about their internships. “Going into the workforce coming from school is challenging in and of itself,” she said. “Anything I can do to inform I’m happy to do so.”

Wright also talked about how the internship she had while at Trinity helped her future career. “I ended up getting a job with the company I did my internship with and worked there for five years,” she said.
The panel gave advice on how to get the most out of an internship. Some of the advice included sitting down with your supervisor to discuss what you want to achieve through an internship, setting goals for yourself and trying to reach the goals.

Erin Hood, internship coordinator at the Center for Experiential Learning & Career Success, organized the event. “It’s that time of the year where a lot of students are about to start their summer internships,” Hood said. “Students will be successful regardless but the more we can set them up to be as successful as they can possibly be, the better.”

Hood and her office held this event because they recognized the importance of internship in helping students find their future directions.

“Whatever internship you do is a launching pad to that next thing you’re going to do and through having this one launching pad you can make more informed decisions about what direction to move in next," Hood said. "It’s not only about gaining work experience, but it’s about learning about yourself through work."