How have internships affected my career goals and how have internships prepared me for employment?

Throughout the time that I have spent at Southern New Hampshire University through the College Unbound program I have obtained internships. The purpose of obtaining these internships is to prepare us in our field of interest and to inform our choices thereafter regarding our career choice. Just recently I have completed an internship at the Department Of Education, where I worked closely with the Deputy Commissioner of Education, Paul Leather. Whilst there, I was assigned several tasks such as generating a report discussing the reasons for the drop-out rates in Manchester and Nashua, writing research papers on important educational figures in the country and I have even partaken in meetings with the State Board of Education, the Stupski Foundation and the Manchester School of Technology. These experiences have not only helped inform and narrow what I want to do in my future but have opened the doors to more opportunity. For example, one of the projects that I worked on toward the end of my internship at the Department Of Education was coordinating a Student Summit. This involved a lot of meetings with folks that were participating in the Summit and also involved me connecting with an educational pioneer all the way from Oakland, CA. These tasks have allowed me to make impressions and connections with new perspective places of employment. Having gone through this internship has also helped me to narrow what I want to do and how I want to change education. Coming in to College Unbound I knew I wanted to change education but didn't really know how. Now I know exactly what I want to do and am working toward doing it.

Internships and internship opportunities have prepared me for employment in several ways. One of the ways in which my previous internship has prepared me for employment is through the practice of professionalism. In the Department Of Education there was rarely any room for casual behavior because I was always in a situation where I had to be professional. Another way that my internship has helped me for employment is through work ethic. Whenever I was assigned a task I had to complete the task promptly and report to Paul as soon as I had finished. These little things and more have helped me to reach my goal of beginning a career in the field of education.