Internships and apprenticeships, when done right, give interns and apprentices life long lessons. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, these opportunities aren’t accessible to many and so we wanted to invite folks who have had these experiences to share some of the lessons they’ve learned.

June Marie Russo

I had every intention to become a grocery store manager for one of the the top 100 best places to work and in my head that was going to be my career path. My husband (at the time) was also working for the same company but he didn’t like his job. I had a feeling of guilt that I was climbing the ladder to success and he was so unhappy, struggling to pull a good gross for his department. He would come home so unhappy. Read more>>

Justin Vann

I worked in an outpatient clinic in my hometown in high school, college, and PT school. My first mentor taught me a valuable lesson as an intern at this clinic. We had a patient she was working with that had multiple failed surgeries causing a couple very rough years of recovery. She spent an entire session just talking with the patient and listening to her current struggles in life. Read more>>

Max Vasher

There are so many stories from my apprenticeship with Bart Prince Architect that it’s hard to choose just one but the ones with the most impact on me all revolve around the same theme of creative determination. Bart was the only Architect I knew of that had designed and built his own studio at the start of his practice – he embodied a lifestyle that I call creative determination and I wanted to work for him in spite of the steep competition I faced for a position in his studio. Persistence paid off and I found myself working in an environment that I very much wanted to create myself. Bart’s designs, including his studio, are all imbued with architectural harmony, integrity and beauty. Read more>>

Maggie O’Connor

When I was in undergrad, I spent a summer volunteering full-time at a residential and day treatment center for kids who had experienced significant trauma. I was placed in the therapeutic preschool, working with 3- to 5-year-olds—tiny humans who had already been through more than many adults. One day, I remember a little boy absolutely unraveling over a math worksheet. He was screaming, cussing out the staff, and throwing chairs across the room. It escalated so quickly that we had to evacuate the classroom for safety. Read more>>

Kaitlyn Cunningham Morse

During one of the New Hampshire primary seasons years ago, I interned on a presidential campaign. I wasn’t writing policy—I was knocking doors, making phone calls, coordinating volunteers, and learning what it means to build something from the ground up. That experience taught me a lesson I carry to this day: if you want people to show up, you have to give them a reason to believe in what you’re building. Read more>>