Lessons from Being a Gap Year Intern

Maybe you’re a college student seeking an internship to hone in your skills, even though you have class, homework, social events, clubs, and a slew of other college things on your plate. Maybe you’re a recent high school graduate aiming to jump ahead of your peers and prepare for the working world.

Whoever you are, internships can be fruitful to anybody in education or the workforce, no matter the stage. When I was offered the opportunity to intern with Techstars, one of the world’s leading accelerators, I couldn’t wait to get started.

One year ago, if you asked me if I would be wrapping up a seven month internship with a tech accelerator, I would have instantly thought you were out of your mind. I was weeks away from being freed from high school, and was as ready as anyone to embark on my college journey.

I was hit with health issues throughout the summer, confining me to the couch, where I watched countless hours of Netflix and the Food Network (I’ve probably seen every episode of Triple D by now).

As my hopes for college began to dwindle, I couldn’t help but ponder the uncertainty of the year ahead. How was I going to fill the gaping holes in my schedule with my closest peers out of town? I guess I could flip back over to the Food Network once again.

Fortunately, as fate would have it, I was connected to Techstars through a friend, who endorsed me for the vacant Operations Intern position. Little did I know, I was about to set out on one of the most thrilling, stimulating, and enriching learning experiences of my lifetime, an adventure that I will never forget. Here are some l takeaways from my stint with Techstars, and how they can help you to flourish in your intern role.

Bring Your A-Game

On day one of your internship, march into the office with a contagious smile on your face. Approaching every day with energy and positivity will help to make your experience far more enjoyable. It also works wonders for making new friends, as you become approachable to virtually everyone in the office.

This enthusiasm directly translates to your work performance as well. I can assure you that the amount of work I accomplished on days where I was sleepy and relaxed paled in comparison to the times I felt upbeat and ready to go.

Utilize the Network

At Techstars, I literally had thousands of business leaders and pioneers right at my fingertips. All I had to do was throw together a quick email and, most of the time, I could have a meeting set up with a local business and/or community leader.

I was fortunate enough to sit down with members of FitBot, Black Lab Sports, and a member of the University of Colorado’s athletic department, which had me elated as a die hard sports fan.

If you become aware of someone who has an intriguing job title or a company that you would kill to work for, reach out and set a date. You won’t regret it.

Class Can’t Compete With Real World Experience

You can read all the textbooks you want, but there really isn’t anything that contends with putting your knowledge to the test in a real world setting with actions like communicating with numerous colleagues daily, analyzing company data in Salesforce, and listening to the bios of startup founders.

I undoubtedly learned more about business in these seven months than I ever did in my high school business courses.

Just tuning in to the weekly company stand up meeting gave me knowledge into all sides of business, whether it be finance, community outreach, or marketing. So ready your notepads, and set out on the learning adventure of a lifetime!

It Makes Your (School and Career) Future a Little Bit Clearer

When I initially jumped into the college search process, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to study. There was a journalism stent and a history phase before I finally settled on business (of some sort) when I began to pick between schools.

In the months since I started my internship, I have been able to develop a much clearer idea of what I want to study and the career path I want to follow. I learned that crunching numbers and filling spreadsheets aren’t my favorite activities in the world, and that I quite enjoy branding and outreach. This made marketing and advertising emerge as my target majors.

So if you are uncertain about where you want your career or college path to go, try your hand at all sorts of projects, from marketing to outreach to accounting. Not only will you meet tons of awesome people with a variety of interests, you may just come out having more confidence in your future than ever before.

Your Work is Always Important

One of the first tasks I remember completing at Techstars was updating contacts on the company website and making them public on the web. When I hit the “publish” button, a wave disbelief hit my entire body. I had just typed something that would be featured on a site that reaches thousands of viewers daily.

Something that simple can be vital to the company image. It can also be an integral part of maintaining office efficiency through tasks like updating dates and making sure event times are completely accurate. This certainly can seem like an overwhelming load of responsibility, but it will surely make you a detail freak, which isn’t such a bad trait to boast.

This is YOUR Internship — Do Everything You Can to Learn and Grow

Don’t get me wrong, you were hired to take a load off someone else in the company. Like I stated before, your work is crucial to the success of everyone around you, especially if your company is small and resources aren’t pervasive.

Yet your learning experience is more important than anything else — that’s why it’s called an internship. If you want to dip your feet into a certain area, ask.

If you want to take on a greater challenge, just ask!

Digest as much information as you possibly can so you can ensure you have no regrets when the internship is over.

Have Fun!

It sounds cliche, but you will find yourself at the tail end of your internship before you know it (I am almost in shock that mine is nearing its completion). So, thoroughly enjoy every minute of every day, no matter what’s on your agenda. Treat each day of your internship like your last, because before you know it, it will be.