A few weeks ago I was mindlessly checking my email: Facebook; Hotmail; old, tired undergraduate mailbox; and then my graduate inbox from Portland State University. Attention Students! brass Internship Available, read the subject line…
Coming out of college at Pacific University was an interesting time. The economy was in full crap mode, so there wasn't much opportunity in my area. Needless to say a degree in psychology and creative writing was not the most sought after degree for employment. And thus, I waited. Hours blended together, days turned to months. (I must say, an Xbox 360 controller and Assassins Creed 2 can get anyone through the worst of times.) Then it hit me. Grad school! Why waste time sulking about the miniscule job market? I'd better learn while I have the chance.
Enrolling as a graduate student in publishing at Portland State University was one of the best decisions I've made. I say this simply because it has taught me a valuable lesson: occupy your time learning, take every opportunity that comes your way. As an undergraduate I simply sailed through. Granted I worked my hind parts to the bone, but my focus was on schoolwork without a balance of extracurricular activity. The result? An unimpressive résumé and equally unimpressive skill set. Sure I could rock a social psychology test or pound out a killer 35-page thesis with the best of them, but in terms of hard evidence of professional worth, I had very little to show for all the long hours at the library. As a graduate student I decided I was not only seeking a piece of parchment, I wanted to graduate with a future. Every skill building class, every internship, anything to help me market myself, build on my talents and mold my career, I would do. Publishing is my arena, magazines are my calling. So I'll say it again:
Learn all that you can. Seize opportunity. Meet people. Get out of your comfort zone. The right opportunity, internship or otherwise, can be the stepping stone to greatness.
As Robin Williams said in Dead Poets Society: "Boys [and girls], you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all."
Well I'm listening Mr. Williams. And I've found mine here at brass.
--Chris
Post new comment