I was able to get internships in college that ended up hiring me after I graduated... GOALS. Here's what I sacrificed... and how you can learn the importance of PRIORITIES!
0:47 Episode Introduction
1:17 Preface
2:22 But... when did you party?
3:39 Red Hook Post
5:10 Take advantage of college resources
5:57 Electric Lady Studios
7:24 How did you get those internships?
7:37 Takeaways
8:06 Wrapping Up
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00:08
Catherine
Hello there. My name is Catherine and I am 23 years old, working as a full time freelancer in the media and entertainment industry and welcome to the How I Diaries podcast. This podcast is a diary of how I am currently going about my life and career. If you are someone who has a passion for media and entertainment, or find yourself wondering how people end up working on set and landing other jobs in this industry and the freelance lifestyle appeals to you, then this is your one stop shop for everything you need to know about breaking into it all.
00:39
These episodes are all about sharing everything I wish I knew earlier, as well as my personal stories to help you get on your way to. I know this episode is a little geared towards a specific age, but in any event, if you were wondering, here is my story about how I got my internships in college because it is relevant.
00:58
I am where I am today because I did those internships and I ended up working at both of them outside of when I graduated. So I had a very fortunate and bizarre story. So fasten your seatbelts. I also have another episode about interview prep and all that stuff, so go check that out. So apologies in advance. There is a decent amount of preface to this topic because like I said, it all is a domino effect.
01:22
But for anyone new here or who doesn't know me personally, I went to Manhattanville College and purchased New York. I started college in Fall of 2017 and I graduated a semester earlier in December of 2020 I got a Bachelors of Arts and Music Technology and I minored indentured all media studies. So I think this is the first step in getting my internships.
01:43
I knew I needed to be in New York either in the city or close enough to commute to this city, and then also to make sure my degree would stand out or make sense the places that I was applying. Not saying this is an ultimatum, but this is just the route I chose. I go more in-depth about, you know, my decision to go to college and all that in hindsight.
02:03
And another episode called How I Regret Going to College. Go check that out. Certainly very interesting and could be useful if you didn't go to college for any of these specific degrees in media and entertainment. Anyway, I've always been pretty stubborn and devoted when it came to the sacrifices I made to make sure I was happy with my career.
02:22
So I didn't spend a lot of time going out and partying and doing all that stuff. One, I was never really interested in that sort of crowd and to I didn't have the time or money. Other music majors know how it is. We just have a really heavy course load, which to me I saw as a beneficial thing, and it ended up saving me a whole semester worth of tuition.
02:41
A full time student and most college is 15 credits, but as a music major, I was allowed and advised to take 18 to 22 credits each semester. Anyway, my degree only required me to have one internship, but I knew I needed to do too due to my interests. So my freshman year I made a list of places I research that I wanted to apply to, etc. You know, the whole manifestation thing I eventually will have a episode later on about how I personally go about energy manifesting and the universe.
03:11
All that. But long story short, it worked I got into not only one of those places on my list, but my top choice, and at that a very highly established and recognized place problem was it just didn't fit my schedule that semester, and they were nice enough to defer me until next semester. I then asked some professors to put me in touch with some other alumni and their network of people, and that is when I got my internship at where I currently work.
03:37
Read Post. Here is just one example of how dedicated I was to my career. I lived on campus in Westchester County. Redhook is in Brooklyn, and I went there once a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and my transportation to get from school because I was living on campus to Brooklyn, was an Uber to the train, a train to Grand Central Subway to Wall Street, then a ferry from Wall Street to Red Hook.
04:03
And then I would penny board from ferry dock to the office. And that was about a two and a half hour commute to and from. On top of that, by the time I got back to school, I had class from seven 30 to nine that I was never able to skip. So for those days that I needed to go in, I was basically up at six 30 and then I was not done with school and work until 9 p.m..
04:26
So yeah, dedication. Not everybody would choose that. Like I said, personal choice, but I don't regret it now. I want this episode to be about tips and not just me explaining my life. So I hope you can see where I'm going with this, which is just an overall theme of this entire freelance lifestyle. If you work hard getting your priorities straight and network, you shouldn't have any issue getting what you want.
04:51
This internship worked out for me because of all those things. I sacrificed a lot of social life and just in general with classes and being off campus at this internship and then also by working any minute I could to have some income to be able to pay for my travel. Another big thing. I'm not sure if this was just because I went to a private school, but I took advantage of my school's resources.
05:14
My career center offered travel vouchers for internship commutes. So that paid a portion of my costs and then saved money on my food. My meal program had an option where I could ask ahead of time for meals to be prepared for me to be picked up. So I didn't waste all the money I was already spending on my meal plan, and I did this for both of my internships.
05:34
Again, check out my episode on how I regret going to college, which is partially true. Spoiler alert, but there is obviously some specific points I make in all that. My second internship was at Electric Lady Studios, and all of these same principles apply. Except if you thought me traveling two and a half hours, you know, 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. was crazy.
05:57
This internship was even more time consuming I am not going into detail of my specific experience at the studio because I signed an NDA. The best way I can explain it is I basically scheduled my classes around needing to be at this internship and I will add none of my choices I made. I was forced into. I was aware of the unhealthy lifestyle I put myself in and I was just really, really really passionate about getting the opportunity of working at the studio and didn't think about the reality of it.
06:26
I don't know what my opinion is on whether or not I regret this particular experience. I'm very indifferent because it did teach me a lot about an array of aspects of my life. I was there for shifts a week. My commute was an hour and a half. I believe I was enrolled in 17 credits and I worked on campus nine and a half hours a week.
06:45
Cumulatively, I remember I slept about 25 to 30 hours a week all while also maintaining a very high GPA. So I did this for two months straight, and with one month left, my internship ended getting cut off because of COVID, which was in a weird way a blessing in disguise in terms of me being able to take a breath and slow down and recover from the intensity of that semester.
07:07
But the same things applied for landing this experience I did the same meal plan thing and transportation voucher, you know, work hard, get your priorities straight and network. I was able to keep in touch with some of my mentors there and still are shut out. You know who you are, which is how I ultimately ended up working there.
07:24
After I graduated my episode on how I prepped for interviews. I still do the things I talk about there today, and like I said, everything relates to each other. It's all a big domino effect. So top takeaways from these stories is one be real with yourself and your priorities while in college and to be stubborn with those priorities.
07:45
Like I said, if you know me, you know that I have boundaries and I'm very, very stubborn. So. And last but not least, shoot for the stars. You know, I know that sounds cliche and stupid and whatever you want to say but put out good energy and you speak things into existence and just watch how things start coming to you.
08:06
So that is it for this episode. Feel free to take a listen to all my other episodes I mentioned. They'll all be linked in the show notes below. And if this reaches you and you have any burning questions or stories or whatever, I'd be happy to chat with you. You can always sue me and DM on Instagram at How I Diaries.
08:24
If you're having any specific questions about stuff, please, please, please DM me. I am more than happy to talk and if you could please consider subscribing or liking or writing or sharing the show episodes at the end of each month. So keep an eye out and until next time. Thanks for listening