OPINION: Interning during a pandemic

By Gabriela Chapa
Bridge Staff Intern
Published Monday, Nov. 23, 2020

Many people told me that working on my internship would be one of the best parts of my final semester because I would get to work and gain experience in my career field. However, during the novel coronavirus pandemic, this goal was close to being destroyed until I found The Bridge.

I personally think communication is one of the skills everyone should develop and work on during their college days as it will open many opportunities for the future; being a communication major is not the exception. These past months, everyone realized the importance of communication and social interaction. It is part of our nature and we need to socialize with others in order for each of us to develop our own personality.

Back in the summer, I was wondering what was going to happen with my internship now that many places were working from home and many were closing. To be honest, I was hoping they would cancel the internship course and let me graduate without it. I was scared I would have to go out around the virus and risk the health of not only myself, but my family’s as well.

Starting the semester during the pandemic was not really what I expected for my final semester, much less interning during these crazy times. However, our professor was really understanding and let us work on a portfolio for our master’s degree as an alternative to do an internship. While this was good news, since I wouldn’t have to risk my health, yet some part of me still wanted to go out and explore and get a glimpse of what my career could look like.

Hearing people talk about how much they learned as an intern made me want to do it too. I believe getting as much experience as you can while in college will extremely help you when trying to get a job. So, I took that risk and started looking for an option; when I was close to giving up, since many places were not accepting interns for obvious reasons, I found The Bridge.

I met Assistant Professional Thomas Brown when I decided to study abroad for my second time. He was the faculty leader for the Peru program, which centered around Travel Photography. His passion for photography inspired me to look inside of me and unleash my artistic side. Mr. Brown would often speak about The Bridge but I never thought it was going to be part of my life.

When I talked to Mr. Brown, he was so kind as to let me be part of this awesome group and accept my lack of experience I had with journalism. These last months I have learned more than I expected; I never thought journalism could be so fun. This internship helped me develop new skills and improve some of the ones I did not know I had.

We do not know what to expect in the coming months, but I know some students might feel insecure when it comes to classes and their internships. However, one thing I’ll tell you, even when things seem hard, always opt for working on an internship. Plan B might sound like a good option when you have tried all your primary options, but even if you are not a communication major, The Bridge is always happy to welcome new members and I know the awesome team, along with Mr. Brown, will help you to discover the reporter laying dormant inside.