As our time on the summer internship team for Her Sorority Journey comes to an end, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on our summer. We highlight some of our favorite moments, look closer at some of the most growth-oriented challenges, and talk you through some of the requirements of the internship so you know what to expect before you apply!
When asked about our favorite part of the internship, for Hannah and Grace that was such an easy answer. They had the opportunity to meet (virtually and in person) other Alpha Xi Deltas including Her Sorority Journey’s Executive Assistant, Emily Brown.
We’re all so busy, many of us participated in other internships and/or worked this summer so we had to balance our workloads between all of the responsibilities we carry. One thing that we felt was very important to look at is the time that was required of us each week. We all agreed that it varied from week to week. The day that we each did our Instagram takeovers meant spending a little more time working for the sake of having a high-quality and engaging takeover. The week that we each were responsible for writing a blog was the same way. Some weeks our team meetings were relatively short and other weeks we worked right up to the scheduled end of our call.
"The time commitment definitely can vary depending on what team & cohort you are in, as well as what the week is looking like. Some weeks I would be doing 1-2 hours of content creation whereas other weeks were 3-4. There are also weekly meetings that can be 1-2 hours as well." - Hannah T
"I agree with Hannah! It absolutely fluctuates from week to week. The week I was writing and preparing my blog or working on some of our collab blogs and getting them ready to be published required a lot more of my time than some of the weeks where I was just editing someone else's blog before it was published. Some weeks the team calls were shorter than others, but they always started at the same time so I was always prepared." - Carolyn S
There is so much we all learned throughout our summer internship experience but when asked what one piece of advice they would give their pre-internship selves, here is what Katie L and Chloe had to say:
"Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you’re confused or lost, ask for help! You can always bounce ideas off other people. Don’t be afraid of collaborating!" - Katie L
"You are deserving of good things because you worked for it! Go into the internship (and all things) knowing that you were chosen because of your talents and passions. Fight off that imposter syndrome!" - Chloe
We gained and developed skills that will be invaluable to bring back to our chapters and into our future workplaces.
"I was able to develop my writing and data-gathering skills. Those sound oxymoronic, but being on the social media team allowed me to see and gather data about social media trends, specifically on Instagram and Tiktok, and use the data that I gathered to help me to write a blog post about elevating and enhancing sorority social media. I have never liked to write, but I have found joy in being able to write about a topic that I am so passionate about while bettering my community." - Grace M
What would we tell our best friend if she was interested in the internship?
"Go for it! You will learn so much about yourself during this experience! From realizing something I didn’t know I was passionate about, to getting to see how I manage situations and so much more. And you're supported by others who want to see you learn more about yourself!" - Carolyn S
What is one thing we would never change about this experience?
"I would never change the opportunity to write blogs. There is something so special about being able to sit and reflect on your sorority journey and then share it all. It’s amazing that so many women are able to read and learn from others in the same community all over the map. I know that I was so excited to share my favorite parts of my last two years with everyone, and it even made me even more excited for the fall. Writing a post requires time and thoughtfulness that is unique to the blog rather than some other aspects." - Rachel W
Lastly, we all agree that, given the opportunity, we would absolutely do this internship over again. This opportunity was amazing and we all learned so much collectively about ourselves, each other, the sorority experience, and even just life in general. We are so grateful for this experience and we cannot wait to continue to follow along with each other and see how we continue to grow. We are so thankful to Cassie and Her Sorority Journey for the amazing summer that we had together!