Summer Internships!

Downtown Lugano this past weekend!

When I returned to Franklin this fall, I knew one of my first Adventures at Franklin posts would be a showcase of several Franklin student's summer internship experiences! I loved talking to these friends to find out what they learned over the course of summer 2015.

Myself and other members of the FlashFunders team at an LA event

I'll begin with what I was up to this summer. During my last college summer I lived in Los Angeles, California with a former Franklin student, and interned for an online equity funding platform in Santa Monica. I was one of the Investor Outreach and Marketing interns for FlashFunders, and worked closely with the business development and marketing teams. I focused mainly on curating and developing tools to educate companies and investors on the product and brand. It was a fantastic opportunity to apply what I've learned here at Franklin as a management and finance student in the workplace. I believe I integrated pretty easily into the company in part due to the skills I learned at Franklin in the past three years, including my ability to work well with others and be flexible in any situation. The company's startup culture was well suited; I loved the company's small, young, and dynamic environment. This experience was a great launching point into my senior year, and I'm looking forward to beginning work next year after graduation in May.

Other friends at Franklin had interesting internships this summer as well, and I thought I would ask them a few questions about their adventures for you!

Name: Skylar

Year: Senior

Major: Environmental Studies, Sustainability and Social Justice

Minors: Economics, Marketing

Skylar, tell me about your internship this summer?

This summer, I interned at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, in Crested Butte, Colorado. I worked in the Marketing Department at the Resort, and one of my role's included creating an interactive segment of the new website that CBMR was launching featuring employees, locals, and guests of the mountain.

How did your internship relate to your Franklin experience?

I had taken numerous business classes at Franklin related to my marketing minor which taught me the importance of communication and skills in the workplace. Franklin has always placed an emphasis on the application of classroom skills in the field and I was encouraged to use my skills in actual workplace situations.

What skills has Franklin taught you that prepared you for the internship?

Franklin has taught me to remain open minded in all situations, especially in a professional setting. I also think there's a maturity in Franklin students that translates seamlessly into the workplace. The marketing internship as well as Franklin have left me feeling confident entering my senior year. I know I now have both hands-on and international experience that I can apply both in my last year of classes and post-graduation. 

Name: Karla

Year: Senior

Major: International Economics with an Emphasis in Political Economy

Karla, tell me about your internship this summer?

This summer I interned at the European Parliament, at the office of one of the Croatian representatives in Parliament, Davor Ivo Stier. The internship was in Brussels, Belgium.

How did your internship relate to your Franklin experience?

In Parliament there are 28 countries represented, in a sense it is a mini-Franklin University. My internship related exactly to what i'm studying and to what I'm hoping to do for work post-graduation. It was a nice experience... it's exactly what I wanted to do.

What were your tasks while working in Brussels?

I attended board meetings and would have to summarize what was discussed, and explain why Davor had voted the way he had. I read trade documents as well that were going to be signed between the European Union and the United States, for example. Examples include documents related to moving to a circular economy, reducing CO2 emissions, etc. I had an easier time than other interns writing and explaining what was happening in the documents as I had studied all of this in class. I learned many concepts at Franklin that were applied in my internship.

How do you believe Franklin has prepared you for your career?

Franklin has taught me to be prepared and responsible for my work. It has given me more insight into what it is like to with different people from different backgrounds.

What are your plans upon graduation in May?

I will pursue a Masters degree either at London School of Economics, or at Columbia. I will most probably stay in Europe after that, and work for an international organization.

Name: Jordan

Year: Senior

Major: Combined History and Communications

Minor: French

Jordan, what was your internship this summer? What was your role in the company?

I worked for a company called Wecyclers in Lagos, Nigeria this summer. I discovered this opportunity through their website, and saw the company's posting for an internship position so I submitted an application. The next thing I knew I had a Skype interview and was offered the summer position! 

Wecyclers is a recycling company that is working to bring recycling to Lagos. The company offers a household recycling service using a fleet of cargo bikes. Wecyclers is powering social change using the environment by allowing members of low-income communities to capture value from their waste. 

What skills did Franklin teach you that you were able to apply to your internship?

Franklin has greatly improved my intercultural competency skills, I was working for an entirely Nigerian company, started by a Nigerian, funded by Nigerians, and I was the only non-Nigerian person working there in a group of about 50. I worked to facilitate opportunities between a Nigerian company and foreign governmental companies and associations. 

I was already so accustomed from my time at Franklin to being exposed to so many other cultures, I had pre-knowledge gained from constant intercultural exposure which lent itself greatly to my internship.

How did this internship tie into your Franklin experience?

While this position wasn't related to my majors or minors, I learned so many soft skills that can easily be applied back to my liberal arts education. I learned how to be able to analyze data and use different sources to draw conclusions and construct arguments. I learned how to be persuasive and by the end of summer I was actually leading business meetings for the company. I was able to use my public speaking skills that I had gained from the many presentations I did for professors at Franklin and put this to use speaking to the Board of the Nigerian Central Bank, and other important key players in Lagos. It was such a fun and interesting experience.

How will this internship enhance the rest of your time at Franklin?

My time in Nigeria gave me a glimpse into the real world, and made me a lot less frightened of what I will be doing post-graduation. It also gave me a new perspective of why I'm at university and the importance of studying. I now know the value of my time in university -- it's prepared me in a way for the working world that going straight into the workforce from secondary school would not do.  The skills and concepts we are learning at Franklin are really applicable in ways we can't even understand yet. We might not get why professors are doing what they're doing now in the classroom, but I know we will look back and thank them later!

Evan, pictured far left!

Name: Evan

Year: Junior

Major: International Management

Evan, what was your internship this summer? What was your role in the company?

This summer, I had the opportunity to intern for a law firm in Washington D.C.

How did your internship tie into your Franklin experience?

Many of the cases I was working on were business oriented, so many of the concepts I'm studying in business tied into the legal measures I was dealing with. It was really cool to see the ideas I've been learning in business classes be related and applied to real life.

How do you think this internship will tie into the rest of your time at Franklin?

It was an eye-opening experience, it made me more aware of new things and made me want to try new things. Having an internship opportunity made me feel more appreciative and inspired me to do more. I can relate it to traveling -- once you see a place you want to see many more. I would definitely pursue a similar experience in the future.

What sorts of skills did Franklin provide you with that you found helpful in the workplace?

Franklin has definitely refined my people skills - there was a lot of office banter and since we're in a very small and tight-knit community here at Franklin, I was already used to talking to people of different races and cultures. We, as Franklin students, have a wider subjectivity for all kinds of backgrounds. I immensely enjoyed working with such a down-to-earth team.