The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/cornell-internships/)
Many young interns go into their first few summers of work in the white collar world believing that their employers have their best interests at heart; sadly, this isn’t always the case.
There are few requirements for students at Cornell besides a freshman writing seminar, two P.E. classes and the swim test. And while I — like many other students — appreciate the flexibility and customization of the curricula for students here, I want to propose one additional, minor requirement. While some may believe that there exists a tradeoff between taking college classes and pursuing more practical, professional experience, I believe we should have a university-wide requirement that bridges the divide between the two. This could take the form of a fieldwork requirement. Every student, regardless of which college they are in, must take a part-time or full-time internship during one of their eight semesters at Cornell that explores a potential professional field of interest.
With summer in full swing, some Cornellians are using their break to participate in Cornell Cooperative Extension research internships, where they study a variety of subjects from pesticides to language acquisition.
“I think COVID-19 has impacted everything for sure,” Simms said. “But at the same time, there’s nothing more you can do than to work hard and put your best foot forward.”
An AEM major recently instructed me that, when informed by someone that they spent their summer interning at a nonprofit, the preferred response is: “That must’ve been so rewarding for you.” (And to please refrain from scoffing until well out of earshot). And I may never live down the fact that I was rejected by an unpaid internship the summer after my freshman year. My friends love to joke that I wasn’t even good enough to be a volunteer. Thus, it might seem improper for me to speak on the subject of internships, having never possessed one myself that was worthy of being considered good by Cornell standards. In fact, this past summer I labored at a public relations agency specializing in the cannabis industry, of all things (undoubtedly contributing to the deterioration of American values, and all that for minimum wage).