My name is Sadie Buckallew, and this summer (through next May!) I am lucky enough to have a marketing internship with the Penn State University Press, PSU’s non-profit publishing house. This is a little bit about how I got this opportunity.

 

Last December, I started panicking about my future.  I thought I wanted to go into publishing after graduation, and I knew for sure that I needed an internship to do it. I figured I needed an internship to do anything. I was a Junior CAS student in a scary place, so I took advantage of the on-campus career services that I thought could help. I met with my advisor, Mary Cameron, with Peter Miraldi and Liz Jenkins, two of the school’s internship coordinators, and with a career services advisor, Elif Balin.  Together, they helped me sort myself out and get situated in an advantageous position. More than anything, they all gave me peace of mind and encouraged me to apply to everything that piqued my interest. I stopped panicking. I could do this achievement thing right after all.

 

Through my advisors, I was directed to the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network Symplicity system, and I found out about my internship through the site. I worked out the kinks in my resume (with the help of several friends and family members, even), completed the application, and had an interview a week later. I actually applied to several opportunities during the course of my summer internship search, but the position at the Press was the one most aligned with my dreams and my living arrangements. I actually learned that I got the internship during the interview – I couldn’t believe it. I felt like the luckiest student in the world.

 

I know that my experience with The Great Internship Scramble isn’t typical; it’s unlikely for a student to land a position so ideal so quickly. To be perfectly honest, I still reel a little when I look back on it. I put myself out there and kept at it until I got what I was working towards. In the end, everything just sort of… came together. I don’t think I would have done so well without the confidence I received from everyone I spoke to throughout the process. I’m very lucky to be where I am right now, and it’s only getting better.

Keep an eye out for more posts about my internship experience at Penn State University Press.