Full name: Kaitlyn Madison Wehner
Hometown: Rochester Hills, Michigan
Major and Class Standing: Spanish, Junior
Social Media Handle: Facebook: Kaitlyn Wehner
Internship Company/Organization Name: Youlosophy
Location of Internship: Remote
Program Type: Global Remote Internship Program
I did not have an exact title or position as an intern, however, I was often given tasks as an editor of Youlosophy’s English workbooks to correct grammar and comprehension mistakes, and reword work booklets to influence their targeted demographic before they were published for consumers. In addition, I worked as part of Youlosophy’s team, brainstorming new work booklet ideas and using social media to find sponsors for Youlosophy in Europe.
My daily routine first involved waking up to text messages (due to the 6-hour time difference, as Youlsophy is based in Spain) from my supervisor who assigned me with new editing, brainstorming, or marketing tasks. Thereafter, I completed some of my homework and then looked through and began to complete the tasks I was assigned with in the internship.
Throughout the summer I received emails from my College of Arts and Letters advisor and one of them included information about the Global Remote Internship Program. I researched the internship and decided I wanted to pursue it, thus I applied for it through Michigan State University and after 2 interviews I was offered to intern for the fall semester. To secure my internship, I had to utilize Handshake to rewrite my resume, meet with different advisors to be updated on the classes I had to take alongside the internship, and do different interviews through Michigan State University and Connect-123 (program that connects you to internationally based internships).
My favorite part of the internship was being able to help the team at Youlosophy improve their work booklets by editing their work or in other words giving the team constructive criticism. In addition, I was able to practice my Spanish with my supervisor who made Youlosophy a pleasant and encouraging working environment. My least favorite part of the internship was having miscommunications with my team and supervisor since the internship was remote. In addition, there was not a lot of variance in the tasks I was given as I would have liked to practice my Spanish by editing Spanish work booklets instead of English ones. Moreover, I also did not have as much time as I had thought to complete my interning tasks immediately due to other schoolwork, thus my unreliability to finish the same day caused me to feel guilty throughout the internship although the Youlosophy team was laid back.
During freshman year I was very doubtful about the career path I wanted to follow and often considered becoming an editor or a journalist. However, this internship made me realize that I enjoy editing in waves, not all the time and every day. Thus, it has helped me to solidify my confidence against becoming a full-fledged editor and instead it has helped me to explore other paths that involve more of my interests (including editing) such as Business. I plan to major in Spanish and Business and hopefully find a job that allows me to work with different research or product companies internationally.
Throughout this internship I learned that there is power in criticism and that teamwork is necessary for a company to be successful. I now view criticism as something that can be constructive, as criticism can show you something about the person who is criticizing (about their character) or about your work and what you can correct to improve it.
For those students who are seeking out internship opportunities I advise you to plan out your schedule not with the mindset “Yes I need this on my resume” but with the ideology “I am excited to learn new skills”. Be aware that although your schedule may seem proficient timewise, the more credits you pack onto your schedule as a Michigan State student, the less time you will have to do an excellent job as an intern, so schedule wisely. Be confident in your interviews and as an intern, you got this!
