Internships and apprenticeships are a time-honored rite of passage in many industries. We’ve asked some brilliant folks to share some of the most important lessons they learned during these early experiences in their career.

Charlie Eblen

I believe that my career has all been a internship. I have always wanted to learn everything i can about leadership and the hospitality industry. The more i learned the more i wanted to learn. The lessons learned from washing dishes, serving/bartending to managing multiple locations across multiple states have been extremely valuable. One of the best lessons learned through the years has been there is no substitute for hard work and true hospitality. You have to have a passion for serving people and a genuine love for making someone’s day better through your food and service. Read more>>

Bianca Bee

It was my third year in college and I had to finally pick my first extensive internship. I of course wanted my internship to be at The Oprah Winfrey Network. I applied and unfortunately didn’t get my dream internship. Of course, I was super upset but my mother kept telling me to follow up with the woman in HR. I followed up with her and a month later an internship opportunity came up in a different department. Of course, I applied and finally got it! In this lesson, I learned that what’s meant to be will happen to you. Read more>>

Katie Williams

As a chef, you are always learning from others. Whether it be an actual internship where you are following another person around learning the ropes to a new restaurant, or helping make a staff meal with a steward who is showing you their mom’s lasagna recipe. After culinary school, I apprenticed at a wine bar where I learned about management, ordering, scheduling, as well as menu writing and recipe testing. I stayed on after the internship was over and worked there for a while. It was a very small place with a limited menu. Read more>>

D’Lisa DarLuz

I interned atbefore church one semester prior to graduating with my Bachelor’s Degree in Recorded Arts. I’d frequented the church regularly, before asking for the internship. I’d even served as an AV volunteer, so I was pretty confident I’d be successful in the internship. I quickly began utilizing the skills I’d learned through my school courses to navigate the church’s 32-channel mixing board, control the weekly, PowerPoint presentations, operate webcams, and upload the church service online to the livestream website. I felt very secure in my role and within a couple of months, I was moved to the AV Director position. Read more>>