What to do when your internship ends?

So my internship ended yesterday!

Huzzah for getting through the internship!

But there's still plenty of time until I head back to school, almost a whole month. So what do you do now?

Read more to find out a few productive and fun ways to spend the in between time.

Wrap things up from your internship

This involves writing thank you letters to those who helped you during your internship, people who interviewed or mentored you, any people who you owe gratitude to.

Keep this contact information for future use. A name, telephone number, email address, and business address are good to have on hand for asking for recommendation letters or just to check in.

Also, compose a list of things you did during your internship. Focus on what you will use to get other jobs or in you intended profession. You might be amazed by the diversity of things that you did. Composing this list while things are still fresh in your mind will lead to a more accurate and complete description of skills that you've learned.

Now that you have a list of things you did and learned, use that list to update your resume.

Plan for the fall semester

I've been planning out my courses for the fall semester, figuring out what my schedule will be like. Adding in the school's academic calendar dates like holidays can get you started on your calendar and give you a good sense of pacing.

Having a good sense of what your fall will look like may motivate you to do some preparatory reading over the summer or to get in touch with a professor. I'm also starting to look at how much my textbooks will cost. Saving up for textbooks or lab fees can be quite a feat!

On that note, if you want to have a internship for the fall, you will probably need to start your search now to send out applications towards the middle of August. If you need to apply separately for funding, the search will be a bit more intense and may end up being the objective of this month.

Plan for the next summer

What are you going to be doing next summer? Don't know? Find out.

Try contacting the internship office where you were working this summer. Try reaching out to professors; likely they'll ask you to check in later but asking early will already put you on their mind when applications open.

Do you want to study abroad? Check out what your school has to offer. There's probably a study abroad office. You can also check with your department to see if any professors have travel planned or contact with international countries. Volunteer work can be another way to get out of the US. Planning your study abroad will likely take a lot of time, especially if you are looking for funding or have never been out of the country before.

Personally, I'm going to be asking around about study abroad. I'm going to try to apply for MIT's  MISTI program with the goal to have a museum internship in Europe. I've already made an appointment for when I get back to campus.

Fun things

You should be having some fun during your summer. This is a break from the rigour and schedule of school and work, which should be taken advantage of.

I'm going to be going to Otakon and hanging out with friends. Figuring out when these things will happen and organizing for us all to get together takes time if I don't want to be stressed as I scramble at the last minute.

Take time for your extensive or time consuming hobbies. Read books! Read lots of books! Work on a craft project that you've put aside for a long time.

Travel and take advantage of the things happening where you are. Since I'm in D.C. there are tons of free and fun events for me to go to which I'm going to try to take advantage of.

What to do when your internship ends?

So my internship ended yesterday!

Huzzah for getting through the internship!

But there's still plenty of time until I head back to school, almost a whole month. So what do you do now?

Read more to find out a few productive and fun ways to spend the in between time.

Who's who at an internship

It can be really difficult to start a new job, especially an internship where you know that you will be relying on the good opinions of others to get recommendations or job offers.

Of course different organizations will have different people and different organizations of power. But this is a good rundown of who you'll probably meet at a your internship.

Read more to find out Who's Who at an internship and a few hints about who you are!

Intern supervisor

You've probably already had plenty of contact with this person in the process of getting your internship. The intern supervisor most likely is in charge of all of the interns in different departments.  This is the person that you should touch in with periodically; most likely they'll be the one that schedules your meetings and trainings. If your supervisor has any problems with you... well, the intern supervisor knows. And lets you know too.

The intern supervisor is also generally the person you go to if you are having any difficulties. If your access badge hasn't come or your supervisor is asking you to work 50 hours a week, you should talk to the intern supervisor about finding a solution. They serve as a good mediator between you and the larger company, making sure you get proper respect and treatment. The intern supervisor will also have final say over your recommendations and your review.

Direct supervisor

Your direct supervisor is whoever is in charge of the office you are in. This supervisor is the person who directly assigns you tasks. Some supervisors are happy to have interns and will truly take you under their wing. Others will see you as an imposition and do their best to ignore you, despite your desire to work. Still others will simply see you as another pair of hands and give you a never ending line up of dull tasks.

You don't have much control over how your supervisor decides to treat you. You do have control over how you react. Always be polite and professional. Do your best to ask for challenging work; when you complete a task, check with the supervisor that it has been done properly and ask for more work. If you are curious about something, take initiative to research it and then ask if that information is correct.Your direct supervisor will hopefully see your motivation and creativity as an addition to the office and take advantage of it.

Obviously, your direct supervisor is important: they are going to be the one giving you referrals and having a large say in the decision of whether to offer you an opportunity to return. Try to impress them by working hard and working smart! If you'll lucky, your supervisor will appreciate your dedication, fostering a great relationship.

Coworkers

You may have a closer relationship with others in your office. Having a coworker who has taken you under your wing or who you can consistently turn to for assignments can be a really great thing. I find that other coworkers who still remember what it's like to be an intern can offer a great working relationship. If you have questions about office politics or how to relate to your supervisor, your coworkers can be a good resource for such questions.

Do remember: Coworkers are still above you! Don't get too friendly with them or forget their place above you!

Also remember that coworkers have more loyalty to their supervisor than to you. If you choose to gossip about your boss to them, don't be surprise if that gets back to your boss. Offices are small places, made smaller when people get too cozy with one another. It's not bad to make friendships, but remember to respect the workers who are above you.

Fellow interns

I think that maybe the best thing about an internship is meeting other people. Your fellow interns are also at college, with an interest in same career field as you but they have a totally different perspective to offer you. Talking to fellow interns can give you a sense of what the field you're in is like, the personality of your future coworkers, and even inspire some pretty amazing goals for once you head back in the fall.

Being open and respectful to your fellow interns is the best thing you can do. Do your best to avoid competitive comparisons and instead focus on the common ground. If you're all in an unpaid internship, focus on exchanging tips for cheap lunch vendors or easy tutoring gigs rather than competing to see who has the best or worse living condition. Just being pleasant and constructive can go a long way.

After the internship is over, see if you can meet up with or at least email a few of the interns that you connected with. Ask them if they're doing alright, when they're moving back to campus or what they though of the internship. If you feel an honest connection, such an outreach could start a valuable friendship.

Volunteers or customers

On the offhand chance that your work will have you dealing with volunteers or customers, remember to be kind and generous with them. Be as helpful and respectful as possible to everyone, no matter how inane (or insane) they may seem. If they are a regular of the program, their input may be very important. Comments from customers or those who volunteer can mean a lot to a small organization- so a compliment for you from someone may be very valuable.

You may rank slightly above volunteers or be trusted to supervise them. But remember: you can get fired. A volunteer can't. So really, who's in a position of power? If you are put in charge of volunteers, try to be as polite and respectful as possible. And don't delegate everything to them.  Everything they do, you should do too and work twice as hard at it.

Who's Who and Who are you?

You are who you are. You are a hard working and motivated person- so show that off! Work hard while you have the opportunity. If you have a brilliant idea, work to make that idea have an impression on your company. Be the best that you can be and the world will take notice.

One thing that I would say: I know that a lot of people seem to think that networking is the end all be all. There's this image of networking as the ability to effortlessly charm hundreds of people and inquire on the intimate details of someone's life that you've gleaned from an office party. But that's really not how things work in an office. Networking is about the daily encounters: asking someone if they're alright when they're having a bad day or making the effort to offer to help with something when someone seems particularly stressed along with doing your work as well as you can.

Who's who at an internship

It can be really difficult to start a new job, especially an internship where you know that you will be relying on the good opinions of others to get recommendations or job offers.

Of course different organizations will have different people and different organizations of power. But this is a good rundown of who you'll probably meet at a your internship.

Read more to find out Who's Who at an internship and a few hints about who you are!

10 Things About College You'll Miss on Break

There are a lot of great things about college - the level of independence that you get to experience - things that you lose when you go home for break. Sitting here in Virginia, I'm thinking about the things I miss about Boston and the MIT campus.

Read more for my list of 10 things about college you'll miss on break.

1. Going where you want to when you want to

If you are returning to the suburbs from the city, then you're probably missing the ability to walk wherever you want to. And maybe you've gotten roped into driving a sibling somewhere. You don't realize it while you're at college, but the ability to go where you want to when you want to without answering to your parents is really great.

2. Blasting music

Whatever the rules are for your dorm, I'm sure you've found the time and place to blast your music. Your home, however, probably doesn't have a place to blast music. And it's likely that even if you could blast your music, the commentary from parents and siblings would ruin the joy of airing your music out.

3. Cussing

I don't cuss that much, but I do relish the occasional swear when the moment is right. The moment is never right at home. Worse than that, if I slip out a cuss word a younger sibling will parrot it back a million times.

4. Seeing your college friends

This one is obvious. Even if you're in the same area, it's different to live with someone and see them all the time vs. schedule a meet up to get coffee. I really do miss seeing my college friends all the time and our little impromptu hot chocolate runs.

5. Avoiding the home-town politics

I found that college really changed my politics. I now have very different politics than the people in my home; even my approach to discussing politics has changed.

6. Getting tons of take out and snacks

Everyone knows that college kids eat a lot of snacks and take out. But when we return home, we get all sorts of sass for eating poorly. I don't think that the occasional snack is bad, but it's hard to convince the parents to buy it.

7. Waking up late

College might not start until noon, but the rest of the world wakes up to start at 9am. It can be a painful transition back to the early bird life, especially if you want to chat with college friends that live in a later time zone.

8. Leaving your room a mess

I don't think that I'm particularly mess but when I'm working on a project I do like to have my things spread out. Also, I'm one of those people that's opposed to making their bed. But when I'm at home, I have to make my bed and clean up all my things each night. If I don't there's a scolding waiting for me!

9. Wearing whatever clothes you want

I do love different gyaru, mori and lolita fashions, but no one at home knows what these things are, much less understands them. Even in the case of wanting to wear party clothes, there's really no opportunity. Work and family don't understand your clothing choices the way college students with similar interests do.

10. Academics

I won't say much about this but I think we all know that boredom starts to set in a few weeks after break starts.

10 Things About College You'll Miss on Break

There are a lot of great things about college - the level of independence that you get to experience - things that you lose when you go home for break. Sitting here in Virginia, I'm thinking about the things I miss about Boston and the MIT campus.

Read more for my list of 10 things about college you'll miss on break.

Internship Update

I wanted to give a little update on how my internship has been going.

Read more to find out how things have been going!

What I do

I'm currently in the Public Programs Office; I'm working on an assortment of projects along with staffing evening events. Most projects are small internal paper work things, organizing things in Excel, or helping with the Family Days. I kind of want to work through a few mini-classes in Excel. My experience with tutoring and teaching has been really useful for prepping for the Family Days. I think the most exciting part of the internship is staffing the events: it gives you a real sense of the role the museum plays in the community.

Where I am

I'm in the Public Programs Office, External Affairs. The Public Programs Office is really great. Everyone is super friendly at the Smithsonian. That was one of the first things that struck me about the environment. But this office just goes beyond, filled with enthusiastic and cheerful people. I'm amazed by the scope of these women's work: they do so many programs for the American Art and Renwick. And there are just five of them!

The space itself is an office in the Smithsonian American Art Museum offices in the Victor Building and the museum itself, which is right across the street. This is all right outside of the Gallery/Chinatown metro stop; I just ride the yellow line straight in. I also sometimes make my way to the other Smithsonian museums for research, trainings, special events, or just for my own pleasure.

What I'm learning

I'm trying to take the time this summer to learn as much as I can about the Smithsonian and it's programs. I want to leave with a strong understanding of how museums organize themselves and how individuals can best help a museum. I'd love to see how my understanding of the museum's role for the community changes as I help to staff events rather than just attend them as a guest.

I also want to learn more about professional development; I feel very disconnected at MIT since we don't have a strong program for Art History or Studio Art. Hopefully, I can take the resources and people to find out and connect to the career of conservation.

Why I'm sharing

I'm going to start writing about my internship; I do want to give it a little bit of time so that I can process my experiences and deliver the best information. Also, there is the consideration of privacy and respecting the museum. I doubt that any posts on proper attire or behavior would brush against that, but I need the time to go over things and make sure they are fully in line with the museum's policies.

I might also write about interesting things that are in the museum's catalogue. As I do research, I come across all sorts of neat little gems within the catalogues. Not to mention that it would help to expand my knowledge and yours too!

Internship Update

I wanted to give a little update on how my internship has been going.

Read more to find out how things have been going!

End of Term

It's absolutely amazing to think that it's the end of the semester. Next year I will be a junior! There are so many exciting things to talk about: an exciting summer job, studying for exams, packing for a return to Virginia.

Due to finals there won't be any more posts until after May 24th, when I return to Virginia. After that, I will return to schedule.

Read more for my thoughts on the end of term and summer plans.

Semester Wrap Up: Academics

To think that I'm half-way through my college career is crazy. I just can't believe it; it feels like the time is flying past me. Truth: college takes a lot of sustained work and concentrated dedication. I've felt the wear down of the year when winter was in its coldest, but as the weather warmed up so did I. Not to mention the lift that my floor mates and friends provided. I'm intensely grateful for the friends that I've made. For them and myself, I want to keep up the effort and the energy for the next two years, staying focused on making myself happy and learning rather than weakly stumbling through.

Finals are something that I start prepping for at the start of May, so I'm not drowning in cramming. However there was a major surprise from MIT about Random Hall going through construction and Bexley being closed for the next couple of years. This threw me off schedule for studying. I have a take home exam, a final, and two papers to write. Most of my things are organized to be packed up. Taking the time to pack up also means taking the time to purge my room of things I don't adore. For the summer, I'm going to be storing my things at a paid storage facility; thankfully, MIT should be covering this cost.

Gratitude: The Year as a Gift

There's so much that I'm grateful for, even as I struggle through finals and packing and all the things that come with the wrap up of the year. The winding down of the year puts so many things into perspective. My low points this year are also a way to get back down to my foundation.

So many opportunities and knowledge have come to me, but through this year my goal has been to acknowledge these opportunities as a gift. No one is owed anything so to be gifted kindness, knowledge, and kinship is something really valuable. Easy to overlook, but difficult to find. I've been focusing on improving myself, reading and breathing to appreciate what I have.

This year, every day of it, has been a gift. Low points and high points are part of the process of living; I want to appreciate them as an opportunity for growth and self-possesion.

Upcoming Summer: Work and Play

My summer job is an internship with the Smithsonian American Art. Link through to read about the summer program internship for SI American Art. I'm so excited for this amazing opportunity. There's no way for me to express how much it means to me to be stepping forward toward my dream of working in a museum, to be working with art and towards the purpose of preservation, outreach, and education. I adore the Smithsonian and can basically guarantee that I'll spend my summer gushing about it. If you're also interested in this type of work: Check out the Smithsonian's page for summer internships. 

I'm thinking of getting a part time work-from-home job since the Smithsonian internship isn't paid. I'd like to have something to give me a little bit of spending money and some savings to start off my junior year.

For play, I'm going to be having some of my college friends over. I've already got the full plans for a friend coming over for Otakon! Link to read about Otakon, an amazing anime convention in Baltimore, Maryland. This summer will be my third year attending. Another friend may be dropping by sometime during the summer since she fell a bit in love with Virginia after visiting for Thanksgiving.Also, I'm considering going to see Motion City Soundtrack for their concert July 9th at Virginia Beach.

Summer Blogging

With an increased amount of free time, I want to work on my blog. I really want to step it up to the next level. My goals are to create a banner, signature, line break, and maybe even  an extra feature for each week. I'd really like to work on my graphic design and art; utilizing that toward the blog would give me a good schedule and motivation.

I would also like to get back into Youtube and creating videos. It's something that I've always enjoyed but don't seem to block out time for.

If there's anything you want to see in the blog or from me in general, please let me know!

End of Term

It's absolutely amazing to think that it's the end of the semester. Next year I will be a junior! There are so many exciting things to talk about: an exciting summer job, studying for exams, packing for a return to Virginia.

Due to finals there won't be any more posts until after May 24th, when I return to Virginia. After that, I will return to schedule.

Read more for my thoughts on the end of term and summer plans.