Six months ago I found myself sitting on the couch in my cozy Beaver Avenue apartment, frustrated, bewildered and stressed about a recurring conversation that I had with my parents during Christmas break. The brief chat always started with Mom or Dad asking, “Have you applied for any internships yet?” I feel confident that this conversation occurs in many households once a child reaches their junior year of college and becomes an adult. Although my response to my parents’ nagging was always a quick and forceful “yes,” I did not feel as self-assured about my internship search as I appeared.
The process was daunting, and as an English major, I did not see the clearly defined career path before me that students in other fields seem to have. Education majors student teach, pre-medical students intern at hospitals, and journalism majors write for any publication that they can get their hands on. What does an English major do to prepare for life after graduation?
After reading description after description of position requirements and responsibilities, I started to doubt my choice to major in English. While browsing position openings online, I frequently found myself asking, “Am I qualified for this?” Naturally, I felt self-conscious and disappointed that my major appeared to be in such low demand in the ‘real world.’
Once I realized that internships specifically seeking English majors would be few and far between, I developed a new approach to my search. I took to writing, as most English majors tend to do, and I composed a list of my best skills: writing, comprehensive reading, and effective communication. I decided to skim a few position descriptions again only to discover that my skills were actually wanted in great abundance. With a big grin on my face and a new outlook on all that I have to offer, I wrote many cover letters and filled out a multitude of applications.
In April I was offered a summer internship with The Franklin Institute Development Team. I eagerly accepted the position but felt that I would stand out as an unqualified liberal arts student come summer. After all, I did not know much about development, and I had no previous experience in the field. My courses at Penn State almost always consisted of reading literature, analyzing through discussion, and then writing about my findings. I felt absolutely certain that my experiences would not help me connect well in the world of development. However, as I began spending more time with different members of the Institute’s Development team, I quickly realized that perhaps I had found a future career route to venture down after my time at Penn State was complete.
When I started in May, The Franklin Institute was nearing the final stretch of a monumental campaign to raise funds for a building expansion and the refurbishment of a few exhibits, including the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. Therefore, this was an exciting time to begin my internship. The opportunities that I was given throughout the summer allowed me to learn and feel like a part of something much bigger during such a special era for the museum. It was impressed upon me early on that every meeting and cultivation event mattered greatly.
Within the first week of my internship, I stayed at the museum after-hours to help the department with one of many cultivation events that are held each year. I must admit that I was intimidated and nervous at first. After all, my superiors had built lasting relationships with donors in the Greater Philadelphia area and beyond, and the last thing that I wanted to do was make a bad first impression. I stood at the registration table at the beginning of the evening simply watching in awe at the interactions occurring around me. It was an “all hands on deck” situation as my direct supervisor likes to say, and every team member strategically and gracefully worked their way around the museum floor to greet and thank the supporters of The Franklin Institute. By the end of a very successful night, I came to the conclusion that development is not just about soliciting and searching for prospects, it is about cultivating a mutually trusting relationship between an organization and its supporters. Donors need to believe in what they are supporting, and the Institute’s Development Team is a strong advocate for everything that the museum represents and for the good that it does for the City of Philadelphia.
I learned quite a bit during my internship at The Franklin Institute, and I’ll share more about the projects I worked on in my next post.
