How Theta has Helped Me in my First Internship
By Caitlin Pfeiffer
As one may expect from a Theta, I have endless praises to give to the organization. But I wanted to share the reality of how Theta has helped me thus far in my first internship (AKA my first real world, very scary, adult job). Let me preface by saying that this internship is not your typical ‘just doing the grunt work’, ‘not really part of the team’ position. I have been given the opportunity to be a contributing, equal part of the Talent Acquisition team at AECOM – one of the largest civil engineering firms in the world – and I couldn’t be more thankful.
Theta’s emphasis on leadership, personal excellence, intellectual curiosity, and commitment to service has played a major role in my life for the last 2 years and is continually doing so, even when I don’t realize it is. The conversation surrounding women in leadership positions is one that is constant and should always be as such, but when the majority of the people I report to are women, it brings a whole new meaning to what it means to be a leader. The women I work under (and those I work alongside) are nurturing and they genuinely care about the type of work I do in this position. This results in work that is meaningful to both them and me – the epitome of workplace symbiosis. The trust and respect they have treated me with since the very beginning of my internship is more than appreciated. I am reminded of my parents’ favorite phrase: “We give you freedom and respect until you prove to us you do not deserve it”. Hearing that for the first time made me think “Well, yeah, you should give me those things!” but in reality, no one is expected to do so and I find that those who live by this have more satisfying relationships with others.
I like to think about personal excellence as navigating through situations and relationships in the best way possible for not only yourself, but for others as well. You cannot be ‘excellent’ if you blow past those who help you along your way to your goals. To me, in order to be personally excellent, I have to take what I get with gratitude and grace and offer to others what I have that might benefit them. It’s a two-way street. Through this internship opportunity, I have been able to advance my skills and knowledge as a result of a networking connection and as a result, I do everything I can to make sure that person’s job is made easier.
While I am getting paid quite nicely for this position, at the end of the day, I would have done this job for free. This position is explicitly within the realm of my degree and the value of this experience is unmatched. Essentially, by the end of these 15 weeks, I will know whether or not this is the field I really want to pursue for perhaps the rest of my life. Yep, you guessed it; this is where intellectual curiosity comes into play! If I weren’t spurred by Theta to live my life curiously, I may not have taken this opportunity to learn not only what I am capable of, but to learn what I like or dislike about the HR field. It would have been easy to say, “Thank you for thinking of me, but I am going to continue working as a summer camp counselor.” In fact, I almost did before I realized two things: 1. If I turned this down, I may never get an opportunity like this again, and 2. If I did take this opportunity, and I did get the internship, and I did love it then I could potentially have a career at an amazing company (seriously, look them up, they’re great) waiting for me after university.
I believe that commitment to service can be applied to most situations, if not all. Commitment to service plays a role in my internship because if I am not committing myself to my responsibilities and what is expected of me, then I am failing at making the most of this experience. This also ties into the basis of any job acceptance – if you accept the job, you accept the responsibilities and requirements of that job, no ifs ands or buts. Similarly, taking on new and exciting (as well as intimidating) opportunities gives one the chance to prove to others that they are reliable and dependable and to prove to them self that they can do it. In my everyday life I see too many people who say they’ll do something and don’t end up doing it. While one may see this as NBD, I see it as a potential habit that can have serious negative effects down the road: Steve has this habit and he is frequently working late at the office. Steve isn’t getting ahead on work; he’s catching up on last week’s work because he never ‘got around to it’ or ‘something else came up’. Steve’s coworkers notice this and don’t know how he still has his job. Don’t be a Steve.
So, my fellow Thetas, if you live your life curiously, thoughtfully, thankfully, and mindfully, you’ll rarely find yourself regretting a decision you made and you will find yourself being lovingly supported by your friends, family, and coworkers.