Career Center Blog

The internship search can be a somewhat daunting task for a first-year student still exploring a variety of career interests, and still trying to find his or her place here on campus. Today, sophomore Lauren Gardner shares her experience seeking out internships last year, and how she took advantage of the resources our office has to offer. Lauren was an intern last summer with Red Frog Events, an organization that will be in attendance at Fall Career Expo, and a co-host of the upcoming Marketing & Event Planning Immersion Excursion over fall break.

Coming to the University of Michigan, like a lot of incoming freshmen, I thought I had made up my mind on what my major was going to be. Everyone kept telling me that I was going to change as I tried new things, but I believed that I knew what I wanted and nothing was going to stop me.

One year and at least six different majors later, I’m still undeclared.

Looking back today, over a year later, one of the best influences that I found on campus was the The Career Center. They helped me find a direction and path for my college education. It all started with a simple career-assessment test, which showed me where my skills and interests lay. From there, I made an appointment with a career counselor, who helped me prepare everything I needed for my internship search.

Second semester of my freshman year, taking my first step into the Winter Career Expo was one of the most intimidating experiences of my life. The Union was filled with recruiters and upperclassmen — I felt like I was going to stick out like a sore thumb. But I built up the courage and did what I came to do. After waiting in line for over an hour, I finally was given the chance to speak to a recruiter for Red Frog Events, an event planning company based out of Chicago, IL. They were so popular among the recruits that I just assumed they would forget about me — a little freshman, with limited experience, vying for an internship that only one out of every 150 candidates receive.

With each step in the interview process, from the phone interview to the in-person interview, The Career Center helped me prepare with helpful advice, useful online tools and practice. At the same time, I fell more in love with Red Frog Events and their incredible work environment—complete with a zip line, slide, tree houses, candy machines and fully-stocked bar. When I received the phone call telling me that I’d gotten the internship, I couldn’t help but squeal with excitement!

The opportunity to work for Red Frog Events was one of the greatest summers of my entire life. I learned new things about myself that I didn’t even know I had in me. As the youngest person in the office, at just 18 years old, I came in on day one thinking that I was going to have no chance in a sea of older, smarter and more experienced peers. But boy, was I wrong! I did not get lost among my co-workers, but rather, I flourished. They brought out the best in me, in ways I didn’t even think possible. My fellow Tadpoles were more than just co-workers; I consider them role models and friends—even today after the internship has ended. Red Frog gave me the chance to travel all around the country, plan events for 20,000+ participants and work in many different areas such as marketing, social media and sponsorship. I came out at the end of this past summer a new, more organized, more confident and happier person. Red Frog taught me to dream big and ever since, I’ve never looked back.