There’s a popular saying: “Time flies when you’re having fun.” As I sit and stare at the calendar today I really do wonder where all of the time has gone. I fondly remember my interview for the internship and the confidence radiating within me as I exited the building onto the busy Cambridge streets as I realized that I was sure to have gotten it. It was my first internship, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had been lead to believe that interning was boring; you were basically the ground floor in front of the first step on the corporate ladder. On my first day, those thoughts were dashed. I was treated like an equal. I was an equal who was still learning, but a new part of the NGIN team nevertheless. It didn’t take long for me to break the nervousness of a new job.
The biggest thing I’ve learned at NGIN is that the business world of America is changing; nobody wants to stay cooped up in a windowless cubicle for eight hours. Nobody wants to be subjected to small talk at the single water cooler surrounded by stuffy collars and 3 piece suits. People want the comfortable and the unexpected. They want fancy fruit waters and huge windows and the occasional “Why is everyone gathered in the kitchen?” feeling. The world of business is building itself on spontaneity. I’m glad that NGIN gave me the opportunity to see this transformation with my own eyes.
There will be many things that I will miss about NGIN. I will miss setting up for breakfast and getting members in the morning. Many of them I’ve gotten to know well, and I can’t wait for the day where I see their company in the news so I can say “I knew them!”. I’ve watched people come and go. I’ve seen offices empty, fill, and then empty again in my short time here. There have been good days and bad days, and days where I felt tempted to crash on one of our huge bean-bag chairs to sleep for a few hours. Looking back on this internship, there’s nothing I would have changed.
How do you measure the worth of an internship? Is it by how many networking connections that you have? Is it by how many printer jams you got unstuck? You could count it in morning cups of coffee, or in hours worked. In my case, you could even argue it could be the number of flyers made. In reality, you measure the worth of your internship by the memories, the resources, and the lessons you take away. They tell you when you first walk in the door at NGIN’s internship program is that the internship is what you make it. You can sit idly by and do your duties and go home, or you can go above and beyond. Even small things as helping the members with something trivially simple can be rewarding. It makes you feel like you’re a part of the team. You will get out what you put in; it’s as simple as that.
Overall, I’m going to miss NGIN. I’ll miss its members, its staff, its traditions and its events. I’m fortunate enough to have had this experience with NGIN. I’ll miss writing the newsletter and for the blog, and I’ll miss making the flyers for the members. This internship at NGIN has opened tons of doors for me, and I’ll never forget this experience. My time with NGIN has been amazing. Thank you, NGIN Workplace, for being my start.
Marissa Milkey
