Steps to get the internship: My mother worked for the company in a different department so I had a connection.
Day-to-day activities: I attended meetings, wrote public releases, wrote articles, edited content, and created advertising copy.
Most rewarding: I loved the people that I worked with and the advice and the things I have learned from them.
Biggest challenge: It was hard getting the most out of my internship by putting in a large amount of work, but when I did it was really rewarding.
Most important thing learned: It's important to put in the effort because you will get out more education from an internship this way.
Key advice: Be optimistic. Even if you aren't happy about where you are, this will help you get to where you want to go.
Lauren M.
Major: Communications and English
Company Name: WUSA Channel 9, Local News, a CBS affiliate
City: Washington DC
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: For Course Credit
Steps to get the internship: I applied online and had a phone interview.
Day to day activities: Press releases, analyzing ratings and composing daily reports on how last nights news cast did in comparison to our competitors, attending news meetings, helping produce weather alerts, proofs, and promos, writing brief scripts for weather alerts, proofs and promos, organizational tasks and getting lunch
Most rewarding: I loved living in D.C. and being able to go out with reporters for filming.
Biggest challenge: When there was nothing to do at work it was a bit boring, and being far away from home was difficult sometimes.
Most important thing learned: I learned to be patient and polite, listen to everything, write down everything, ask for a letter of recommendation, network, make connections, and pay attention to details.
Key advice: Don't expect it to be glamorous, but do expect it to be worth it.
Olivia B.
Major: Public Policy
Company Name: American Enterprise Institute
City: Washington, D.C.
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Unpaid
Steps to get the internship: I applied through the formal application process because I heard about it through the Public Service Internship Program at the University of Michigan.
Day-to-day activities: Compiling news debriefings, organizing conferences by drafting speaker bios and running registration, editing and fact-checking articles and upcoming books.
Most rewarding: Attending conferences and meeting with scholars was very rewarding.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was completing expense reports for the office.
Most important thing learned: I learned a lot about Asian Regional Security, especially about the role of the United States Department of Defense in Asia.
Key advice: Take advantage of personal connections and keep up with them afterwards.
Jess G.
Major: Political Science
Company Name: A Congressional Office
City: Washington, D.C.
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Unpaid
Steps to get the internship: I filled out an online application.
Day to day activities: These included attending briefings, answering phones, writing and researching bills, and sending out news clips.
Most rewarding: It was rewarding to learn so much about the government and what happens.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was the fact that I had no office experience beforehand.
Most important thing learned: The differences between republican and democratic bills.
Key advice: You should always come in to the office with a good attitude and be open to instructions.
Madeleine C.
Major: International Studies
Company Name: Miles High Productions
City: The company is based in LA but done entirely on the internet.
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Unpaid
Steps to get the internship: I applied online and had a phone interview.
Day to day activities: I updated social media for clients, drafted marketing strategies, and syndicated material.
Most rewarding: I loved getting an inside look into a facet of the music industry.
Biggest challenge: I had a lot of liberty with timing since it was an online internship, but because I was never with my supervisors it was hard to get feedback on my work at times.
Most important thing learned: If you're unsure about the effectiveness of what you're doing always ask.
Key advice: Make sure it's a field you're actually interested in and not something that will just "look good."
Nell Weber
Major: Physics
Company Name: Safe Water
City: New York City
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Unpaid
Steps to get the internship: A family friend set up the interview.
Day to day activities: I completed secretarial work and worked on their website.
Most rewarding: The best part was being able to be creative and think of how the website should be redesigned.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was commuting to and from work in the city.
Most important thing learned: I learned that putting all of your efforts into what you are doing is really rewarding.
Key advice: Do your best work on everything, no matter how small the job!
Lisa M.
Major: Political Science
Company Name: Food and Water Watch
City: Detroit, MI
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I got the internship through a program at U of M called Community Based Research Fellowship.
Day-to-day activities: I conducted research on local farmers. It was entirely my project to work on so I didn't interact with the other employees very much.
Most rewarding: The best part was probably getting the opportunity to feel like I was really affecting change in a community. My research will go on to provide greater proof of the inequalities in the food system in order to create a fair farm bill.
Biggest challenge: Working alone almost all day was difficult but also rewarding. I know that the work I completed was entirely my own but it was a scary experience because I had so much independence.
Most important thing learned: The most important thing I learned was self-growth. I know now that there is a greater range of policy that I would be interested in pursuing in the future.
Key advice: I had an unusual experience in that I was not required to do menial work, as many are. I also was paid for my time in Detroit, which was an absolutely amazing experience. I would say you should definitely go out of town, it's absolutely worth the scariness of moving.
Amy H.
Major: Psych and Communications
Company Name: Apple Inc.
City: Cupertino, CA
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I filled out an application and conducted three phone interviews
Day-to-day activities: I attended meetings, planned recruiting events, and worked on individual and team projects.
Most rewarding: This internship came with a lot of hands on work and responsibility. I actually got to lead teams and plan my own events.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was leading the efforts to plan events - delegating tasks to people that were obviously much more experienced than me was difficult!
Most important thing learned: I learned how to work effectively in a corporate setting.
Key advice: Definitely intern, it is such a helpful experience!
Crystal C.
Major: Material Science Engineering
Company Name: The Goldman Group
City: Ann Arbor
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I applied for a research grant and then emailed a professor to ask if I could work for her. After that I interviewed with her and got the job.
Day-to-day activities: My day-to-day activities included online research for relevant articles, summarizing the articles, going into lab, and working with different machines.
Most rewarding: I got to make great connections.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge for me was understanding the material as it was very complex.
Most important thing learned: I learned that when doing research, it is important to be patient because even when you don't get what you're expecting, it still tells you something important.
Key advice: Be persistent and while doing research don't be afraid of cold calling and emailing for information - a lot of times this is how you get the research you need!
Phillip S.
Major: Politics, Philosophy, and Economics
Company Name: BlackRock
City: NYC
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I sent in my resume and went through three rounds of interviews.
Day-to-day activities: I attended meetings and took notes, wrote memos, did opposition and background research, and wrote proposals.
Most rewarding: I loved being able to help build the BlackRock brand.
Biggest challenge: It was tough to catch on to all of the lingo used in the financial sector (market upside capture, reduce beta, capture alpha, etc.).
Most important thing learned: I gained deeper insight into how the markets work.
Key advice: Do your homework beforehand!
Claire D.
Major: Sport Management
Company Name: Players Sport & Social Group
City: Chicago, IL
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: A family friend told me about the company and gave me contact information. From there, I sent in my resume and had a series of phone interviews/in-person interviews.
Day-to-day activities: The company is run by just 4 people so I had a lot of responsibilities. I worked under the head of marketing and sponsorship, so I went to all related meetings, activated for the current sponsors, came up with promotional activities, helped organize/run events and leagues, and managed social media.
Most rewarding: I really liked how much responsibility and authority I had. It wasn't an internship where I was babied; I was treated like a real employee.
Biggest challenge: Sometimes it was tough to have so much responsibility. It was overwhelming at times how much I had to do. Seeing as how I had only completed 2 years in my sport management program, I didn't have all the skills necessary to perform some of the tasks that were thrown at me.
Most important thing learned: I learned the importance of details. Simple things like keeping a marketing table clean at an event or personally helping a customer solve a problem make a huge difference. Everything you do represents the company so it is important that everything you do, even the smallest of things, represents the company in a positive light.
Key advice: Take your job seriously. You get out what you put in, so if you work hard you can end up learning quite a bit.
Amanda K.
Major: Communications and Psych
Company Name: Youth Marketing Connection
City: Ann Arbor
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I applied through a youth marketing website.
Day-to-day activities: I organized and recruited a street team to hold six events on campus to promote Adidas.
Most rewarding: I got a lot of free Adidas clothing!
Biggest challenge: Getting full street team attendance at events was very difficult. College students have really busy schedules.
Most important thing learned: I learned how to turn creative ideas into actual functioning events and how rewarding that can be.
Key advice: Utilize your resources and don't be afraid to ask for help.
Rebekah R.
Major: History
Company Name: Little Traverse History Museum
City: Petoskey, MI
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: For Course Credit
Steps to get the internship: I emailed the director of the museum with my resume and cover letter, and then had a phone interview.
Day-to-day activities: I sorted through old maps (from 10 to 160 years old), old postcards (most were about 100 years old), old print publications about northern Michigan (about 80-50 years old) and created an archival system and catalog for the maps, postcards and publications in the museum collection. I also made a finders' list for researchers to find the material that we had available at the museum.
Most rewarding: Being able to have a hands-on experience with items in a museum collection was very rewarding, especially when I found our copies of the first survey map ever made of Emmett/Charlevoix/Cheboygan county by John Mullett from the 1840s (Mullett Lake is named after him).
Biggest challenge: It was tough to remind myself that the class credit I was getting for the course was worth doing the work, because I wasn't being paid for the 130 hours I put in over the summer.
Most important thing learned: It's very important to communicate with your supervisor if you don't understand what they want before you make a mistake. Also, being able to work autonomously is extremely helpful in a museum environment.
Key advice: Do it! But make sure you know what you want to get out of it. I did my internship because I needed an internship for my Museum Studies minor and because I wanted to see if I really liked museum work. I also knew I'd be able to have a lot of hands-on experience working with real artifacts because it was such a small museum, so make sure you will actually be doing what you want to know, not just some side projects or busywork for interns that the people you're working for want you to do.
Amanda B.
Major: Sport Management
Company Name: USA Hockey NTDP
City: Ann Arbor, MI
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: For Course Credit
Steps to get the internship: I emailed the director of marketing and media communications.
Day to day activities: I held office hours and had game night responsibilities, which included taking official USHL stats (shots on goal, goals, assists, penalty minutes, etc.), recording the shot chart, playing music, delivering information to coaches and referees, and other odd jobs.
Most rewarding: I loved learning about the game of hockey and being involved with such an influential organization. My bosses and co-workers also made the internship a fun environment.
Biggest challenge:
The fast-paced environment was difficult to adjust to. Every action is very time sensitive.
Most important thing learned: It is very important to enjoy what you do!
Key advice: Don't settle for something that is not related to what you want to do.
Marley K.
Major: Communication and Spanish
Company Name: DBusiness Magazine
City: Royal Oak, MI
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Unpaid
Steps to get the internship: I applied through the company's website.
Day-to-day activities: I posted articles and photo galleries to the website and also wrote articles and obtained images for the DBusiness Daily News.
Most rewarding: I wrote copy for a two-page feature spread in DBusiness' November/December issue, which was a great experience.
Biggest challenge: I had very short deadlines for the daily newsletter.
Most important thing learned: I am not sure yet as I am still interning for them!
Key advice: Don't be afraid to ask questions or to ask for help.
Mara G.
Major: Program in the Environment
Company Name: Clean Water Action
City: Ann Arbor, MI
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Unpaid
Steps to get the internship: I emailed the contact info listed on UM's Career Center website.
Day to day activities: Each day I did graphic design work, wrote LTEs, took notes at meetings, attended public comment hearings in Lansing, attended press conferences, and updated the social media sites.
Most rewarding: I enhanced my graphic design skills.
Biggest challenge: The toughest thing was dealing with my boss who was not very good at communicating and listing expectations.
Most important thing learned: I do not want to go into non-profit work.
Key advice: Apply to as many places as you can and keep your options open.
Katy B.
Major: Spanish
Company Name: Global Entrepreneurship Week
City: Washington, DC
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Unpaid
Steps to get the internship: I filled out an application and conducted one phone interview
Day to day activities: I researched startups related to the ecosystem and potential partners for our company, reached out to company partners, and translated.
Most rewarding: I got to manage a large portion of a demographic survey that went out to our partners in over 130 countries and completed the translation for this survey.
Biggest challenge: Some of the startup ecosystem research I did was tough. I was looking for information on countries where we don't have partners which was difficult because most of them don't have the infrastructure to have startups.
Most important thing learned: There are really only two responses when someone asks you if you can do something: "Yes" or "I'll figure it out." I was able to accomplish a lot more than I ever thought I would because I didn't close myself off from any projects just because they seemed difficult.
Key advice: Be broad in your internship search. I had previously interned for my US Representative (DE-AL) and thought for sure that I wanted to be in a Congressional or Senate office, but GEW was a completely different perspective that I otherwise would never have gotten.
Maura F.
Major: Political Science
Company Name: Strategic Health Care
City: Washington, DC
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Unpaid
Steps to get the internship: I found the application online and applied!
Day to day activities: I spent each day attending Congressional hearings and taking notes, researching legislation, writing memos, and developing PowerPoints.
Most rewarding: I loved going to the Hill on a regular basis!
Biggest challenge: After attending Congressional hearings, meetings, and conferences, I was responsible for informing our clients on the topic. It was challenging to evaluate all of the information and pick out what was most relevant to each of our clients. This forced me to know both the issue and the client.
Most important thing learned: Regularly writing policy memos helped me develop a more concise and effective writing style.
Key advice: Find an internship that offers you an opportunity to learn something new and challenges you.
Patrick B.
Major: Communications
Company Name: Six n' Sticks
City: Ann Arbor, MI
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: My girlfriend had a class with another student who was planning on starting a website/product business and needed a writer. I was referred due to my interest in writing and the fact that I am minoring in writing. I had an interview with the company as well.
Day-to-day activities: I wrote blog posts daily relating to craft beer in the state of Michigan.
Most rewarding: Being able to set my own hours, take time off when I needed it, and mostly have fun writing about beer and being creative was quite rewarding.
Biggest challenge: It was all really easy. I would say writing in a particular style that suited the site and included the most relevant information was probably the biggest challenge though.
Most important thing learned: I learned how the startup world works and how to create a profitable website selling products.
Key advice: Be open to learning new things and be able to accept criticism of your work.
Chip K.
Major: Business
Company Name: Peter Allen & Associates
City: Ann Arbor
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I took my professor's class and established a professional connection with him by going to office hours. He needed help for this project and contacted me asking if I'd like to assist his company.
Day-to-day activities: My day-to-day activities included attending meetings and placemaking through catalytic real estate development proposals in downtown cities in Michigan.
Most rewarding: It was exciting to learn about real estate development and meet stakeholders at the state and local levels.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was the fact that this industry was almost completely foreign to me and I was almost always interfacing with people at least 20 years older than me.
Most important thing learned: I learned that real estate development can impact cities in amazing ways and that good development takes time. Conversely, poor planning and shoddy construction can negatively affect communities for decades.
Key advice: Get your hands dirty as soon as possible. Bug professors and industry professionals whom you admire until they give you an opportunity to either volunteer or intern, and leverage that to get a paid internship or job.
Sarah B.
Major: Organizational Studies and Political Science
Company Name: Cisco Systems, Inc.
City: San Jose, CA
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Paid
Steps to get the internship: I sent in a resume and completed two interviews.
Day-to-day activities: I attended meetings, worked on Microsoft Excel projects, created governance maps of the marketing department, and completed basic desk work.
Most rewarding: I loved the people I worked with and the company culture.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge was teaching myself how to work with Microsoft Excel.
Most important thing learned: I learned how to ask questions in the workplace and now understand business world etiquette.
Key advice: Ask a lot of questions and take advantage of networking.
Libby S.
Major: Psych and International Relations
Company Name: Truman National Security Project.
City: Washington, DC
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Unpaid
Steps to get the internship: I emailed the internship coordinator for an organization I was interested in and we chatted over email. I sent her my resume, had an interview, and I was in!
Day-to-day activities: I worked for the executive director, researched national security issues, and went to meetings with senators and seminars on foreign security topics.
Most rewarding: I realized that people actually want to make this country better, not just about politics. I also learned about the benefits of working in a grassroots organization.
Biggest challenge: The most difficult part of my job was keeping up with all of the news on the issues we discussed and sorting through the bias to get the facts.
Most important thing learned: I learned a lot about the importance of networking.
Key advice: Understand that there is a lot to learn from your bosses and that networking can be a key to success.
Katie K.
Major: Public Policy
Company Name: Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington
City: Washington, DC
Paid/Unpaid/Course Credit: Unpaid
Steps to get the internship: I found out about this opportunity through U of M's Public Service Intern Program. I sent in my resume and cover letter and then interviewed with the internship coordinator.
Day-to-day activities: I worked as a caseworker, logging information about our program participants and listening to them about their concerns and successes. I worked with homeless participants and helped them acquire housing. I also worked with unemployed individuals on cover letters, resumes, job applications, and e-mail etiquette.
Most rewarding: When participants found jobs or housing they were so grateful. Seeing their successes and knowing that I had a part in that was really amazing.
Biggest challenge: Casework can be mentally exhausting at times; I had to focus on the accomplishments of the participants instead of their barriers to success.
Most important thing learned: Non-profit work can be a fantastically gratifying experience and is a nice break from academics.
Key advice: If you want to have a lot of responsibilities during your internship, small non-profits can provide that kind of training.