Instead of days basking in the sun at Barton Springs or staying wrapped in their beds at home, some LASA students decided to spend their summer vacation days working in internships tailored to their specific career interests.

Although students commonly intern to improve their college resumes, each student found that their internship also helped them to develop and tailor unique skills for their chosen fields of study. LASA senior Violet Mann spent her summer working at the Saint David’s Institute, a training program for nurses and pre-health training. As one of five interns to her supervisor, Mann would help with daily housekeeping, such as cleaning office spaces and preparing for events. When she had free time, she observed simulations and classes at the hospital.

“I learned a lot of basic healthcare things,” Mann said. “Like how to put in an IV.” 

Although Mann initially took part in the internship to improve her resume, she learned important lessons from her supervisor apart from medicine. Her supervisor is also currently assisting her in finding a surgeon in the Austin area who Mann can shadow. She felt the internship helped her to feel confident in her future and career interests.

“[I have learned that] the more confident and well-spoken you are, the more people are going to trust you,” Mann said.

While some LASA students completed internships in the Austin area, LASA senior Sadie Henderson spent her summer in North Carolina interning at Peacock Theatre for children, the same as she has done for the past two years. Henderson discovered the internship because she was interested in a job that incorporated art and traveling. 

“Before my internship, I wanted to do architecture,” Henderson said. “Going into the internship and working with 3D design and building helped me put that into perspective and I think that’s now my top major choice.”

Henderson’s main responsibility was working in set design where she was in charge of creating and painting the theater’s backgrounds. Initially starting out as an unpaid intern for her first summer with the camp, she eventually became a paid intern which involved more responsibility and lended itself to developing new skills such as teamwork and management.

“I learned how to work with others and manage larger groups of people,” Henderson said. “Especially kids.”

LASA junior Sanvi Paranjape wanted to spend her summer interning to improve her resume, and she found openings through the City of Austin’s internship program, deciding to intern at the UMLAUF Museum and Sculpture Garden because of her interest in design and art. According to Paranjape, internships can create a reason for many students to spend their summer outside of their comfort zones and experience new workplaces.

“If I wasn’t working I would probably be staying at home most of the time,” Paranjape said. “Or maybe going on a longer trip.”

Paranjape added that having the job taught her a lot about careers in design. It also helped her develop new skills in teamwork that she would not have learned otherwise.

“My favorite memories while working were when I was helping out with the kids,” Paranjape said. “Or when I see something I helped with in the museum.”

Between her personal and professional experiences, Paranjape believed she gained a lot from interning. Similar to Mann’s and Henderson’s, taking on an internship served her purpose of exploring not only her own career interests, but workplaces in general. 

“I think doing this internship has helped me figure out what kind of job I want in the future,” Paranjape said. “It helped me learn more about all the different kinds of jobs behind an art gallery.”

According to Indeed, internships allow people to gain valuable education in a work environment, and they open the door to high school students to find an ‘in’ in their chosen field. Internships can solidify career path choices, provide real world experience, strengthen college applications, and, according to Mann, allow students to network and form relationships capable of propelling them in a direction built during their high school years that can last throughout their entire career. 

“A big takeaway from me was networking and forming relationships,” Mann said. “My supervisor was really adamant about how important it is to start your career.”