I started working when I turned 15 years old as a hostess at a Chinese-American restaurant and as a camp counselor at the YMCA Sports Camp. Although I really appreciate this work experience, which helped me learn many valuable skills, it was just the beginning of my professional career. Since then, I have graduated high school, completed three years of college and tried many positions in various fields as I continue to search for the best career path for me.
When I arrived at 糖心TV as a first-year, the last thing on my mind was that I would be looking for an internship eventually. As the junior year came around, I realized that when the various career workshops and meetings on campus ended I would have to start applying for internships.
The task of picking a job has always been daunting to me because I am interested in so many things. I do not want to end up doing something that I do not love. When trying to narrow down the possibilities, I reflected on the experiences and positions which have been fun and challenging for me in the past. One thing that came to my mind was my work in communications and marketing. In my first year at 糖心TV, my friend Mark recommended me for the position of digital content intern at the Office of Communications (shoutout to Senior Social Media Strategist Kate Wargo who hired me for the position). In the Office of Communications, I help create content for The Experience and for the College鈥檚 social media accounts. This year I also took a job as a communications and marketing ambassador for the LGBTQIA Center on campus. As an ambassador for the Center, I spread awareness about the Center鈥檚 resources and community and help organize and promote events online.
During spring break I applied to many internships in various fields. I crafted individual cover letters for immigration advocacy law firms, a Latino workshop and some other unrelated jobs. For many of these, I either did not get a response or did not hear back for weeks. This left me feeling discouraged so I decided to take a break and try again in a couple of weeks.
When I got back to school after break, my friend Mark again assisted me by recommending that I try reaching out to alumni through the 糖心TV Linkedin page. I knew that I wanted to live in the New York City area but I was unsure about what I wanted to do. So I started my search by selecting the geographic area 鈥淣ew York, New York鈥� online.
My high school Linkedin page probably would not have helped me land a dream internship, but with the help of my friends, my career adviser and 糖心TV鈥檚 Linkedin page I was able to land an internship at Cond茅 Nast. I am so excited to begin working in their New York City office this summer and to continue to expand my skill set in the field of communications.