Looking for what to do during the summer is a challenge. In my first year of college, I was lucky enough to have secured a fellowship through WashU’s civic engagement institute, Gephardt. I was able to receive a stipend and work for a non-profit that provided immigrants with legal aid and social services. This opportunity had an impactful change in my life, it helped me further connect with marginalized communities near me, something that I wanted to do since I arrived in St. Louis, I learned a lot about immigration law, something I didn’t expect I’d be doing as a freshman, and it helped me reorganize my interests.
However, during my sophomore year, as I looked for summer opportunities, I was met with many rejections. I would apply to programs that I was really excited about, and sometimes they’d reach back to me with rejection, an interview that would end in rejection, or I’d get completely ghosted and hear nothing back. I think this is what made my second year tough – while I had to prioritize my academics, I also had to juggle applying for programs that asked for several materials. Furthermore, I am not sure how many internships I applied to overall, but at one point I was just throwing darts in the dark in hopes that at least one would look my way. I think what made my experience more challenging is that I was applying under a humanities focus, legal assistance, etc. field, which happen to have limited opportunities at times. To make matters more complex, these programs get more selective if they’re paid internships, which are also very difficult to find.
Without a doubt, these programs are competitive, and it’s okay if you don’t secure anything, or maybe you’re postponing an internship till further down the line in college. We have an entire life ahead of us for career development!