A League of Her Own: Summer Interships and Power Stepping Stones

It may be the first week of March, but that doesn’t mean Ivy students aren’t already thinking ahead towards June. In fact, some of us have been planning our summers since, well, last summer. You see, it's very rare that students here just “go home” for summer. Around winter break most of my classmates are already asking if you know your summer plans, and it is ever so humbling and just a bit shameful to have to say “I don’t know.”

Sure, some of us pack up and head off to tour Eastern Europe with a guidebook, a backpack, and a rope to tie their belongings to them while they sleep at their sketchy European hostel (true story). Others do service work in the rural South and gain ten pounds eating fried cooking (true story). Some athletes will spend the summer training for their upcoming season and reaping the benefits of being a college athlete with the girls back home (def a true story).

However, there exists the promised land of summer internships, an exclusive world and a golden standard to which all strive. In January, you will hear grumblings of industry application deadlines. In February, you will see suit-clad Econ majors power-walking through campus on their way to interviews. Later that same month you will likely begin to observe some namedropping: “My boyfriend got McKinsey;” “Michael’s at Goldman.” Ah... so you got a job in finance. The dreams of future CFOs come true with the attainment of the elusive New York City consulting internship. A summer spent working in finance pulls major weight on Ivy campuses: Want all your friends to think you’re an absolute baller? Just become an “i-banker.”

Now, know that this is an exaggeration. There is a definite sentiment on campus that speaks out in favor of corporate responsibility and discourages students from morally void finance positions that keep money circulating among those who need it least. Other types of internships are respected as well. Some brave students will venture out to LA for film, media or PR work that is usually not part of an Ivy League curriculum. Enterprising tech-savvy kids get opportunities at Google in Palo Alto or New York while others work in publishing, hospitals, at non-profit organizations, or in sports medicine. Whatever their interest, Ivy students generally like to stay busy during their time off.

More important than having an impressive internship is having an internship that will take you somewhere. Summer work after freshman year has implications for summer AFTER sophomore year, and that internship you take the summer BEFORE senior year better be guaranteed to get you a job offer and a lucrative company contract.

Summer isn't exactly a breath of fresh air for us here at the Ancient Eight -- it's a power play.  The pressure builds and builds as you mull over the repercussions. If you take a summer abroad in Spain one year, you better be prepared to jump back into the summer internship shuffle with a strong spirit (and list of contacts) the next June.

...So, what are you doing this summer? Wait. What do you mean you don’t know yet?!?