Hometown: Mercer Island, WA 

Major and Class Standing: Junior Experience Architecture

Linkedin: maryvanderwall

Internship: Michigan State University Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures, East Lansing, MI

What was your internship title and role/responsibilities?

My internship title was the website intern for Michigan State University’s Department of Linguistics, Languages and Cultures. This position included doing website maintenance of the department website, wire frame new webpages, hold office hours for staff members who need help, and help create flyers and infographics.

How did you obtain your internship? What resources did you utilize to secure your internship?

I got the internship through applying to the internship through handshake. But before that I learned about my internship through my major emails who usually email out internship opportunities.

What did your daily routine include?

It included doing some website maintenance a couple times a week, holding zoom office hours for any staff members who need help, and organizing the tasks to complete the next week through an informational meeting every week, and then doing those tasks discussed in the meeting throughout the week.

Your favorite experience from the internship?

I really enjoyed the collaborative nature of the meeting style which gave a great foundation for my own future in UX design and allowed for me to grow more confidence throughout the internship. I also adored all the people that I met in my internship. I also really like how tasks were laid out at the beginning of the week, so it didn’t feel overwhelming or like tasks came out of nowhere.

What was your least favorite part of the internship?

I found that some of the maintenance portions of the internship to be tedious and take a lot of time, but it did also teach me, as a future designer, the importance of sustainable design. I also found that some feedback and information would be fed back from other meetings that I was not necessarily a part of, but that is like in most jobs.

What skills did you learn and/or build upon during your internship?

I really became more comfortable with talking and voicing my own opinion in the meetings throughout my internship, which allowed for me to give my input more easily in meetings. I also got to become a lot more comfortable using WordPress, which will become valuable in the future.  

What did you learn about the industry or your career path because of the internship? What are your future plans?

I learned a lot about working in a collaborative and cooperative environment and became more comfortable dealing with feedback, which is crucial for my future in UX design as responding to design critique is part of the job. I also got to learn more about design applications, which will help me be more design conscientious with my work in the future.

What advice do you have for other students seeking out internship opportunities?

I really recommend applying to as many opportunities as you can, even if you think you will not get it. For example, I originally applied to this internship on a whim, thinking that it would give me great interview practice. You never know what trying out an opportunity will take you.