Internship Location: Madison WI
Organization Type: State Government
Policy Areas: Education
Going into this internship, I was nervous about my ability to do the day-to-day aspects of a job. I think one of the most important things that I’ve learned at La Follette is just how to function in an office environment, both tasks such as emailing, scheduling, event planning, and project management as well as how to fit in culturally with an office. Working at La Follette has helped me flex the muscle of working with people who have much more experience than me, and both learn from them, while providing value to the overall mission. As someone who worked at La Follette, while being a student I was able to provide a lot of advice and perspective as the resident undergrad. Knowing firsthand what we learn in our classes has helped our outreach be more effective for students. What surprised me is how much holding a job helped me manage my time. I found that it helped me set a schedule and show up for myself, not just this job but with school and the things I care about. Now one of my biggest suggestions to kids starting college is to try to pick up a job. What I think was most valuable to me is the wonderful connections I made with my coworkers as well as the ability to manage a set of tasks that require different skills and have a range of deadlines. I would recommend this internship to future students, because I think I’ve gotten a lot of value from it, and I think that it works very well with a student schedule. I think this internship has helped me conceive a future career that is based in working with a close-knit team and connecting important work with the wider world.