Freshmen Summer of Freedom By Jessica Xu
Two weeks into your first semester at Penn, you know.
college years provide a limited opportunity to explore the globe, and the most frequent regret that graduates have is not having gone abroad. Sadly, college only gets busier from Freshman year on and chances to travel disappear behind more and more obligations as the years go by, so take the time to go abroad while you still can.
You know that talk of careers and jobs is what grounds Penn and gives it the ability to function, that info sessions and interviews will be on your mind for almost all of your waking hours, and that the rest of your life will be determined by your first post-college job. You know that Finance and Consulting are the best-paying, most attractive, and indeed, only existing careers to pursue. And most of all, you know that you will have to get an early start, and the best way to gain a competitive edge over your peers is to secure a Freshman summer internship while the rest of your class wastes their summer away.
Most importantly, no matter where you go, you will gain a new palette of cultural experiences, fresh insights, and delicious cuisine. These all weave together to form intricate stories that you can carry for a lifetime and which give you a new lens through which to view the world. It is often said that, more than fancy employment descriptions, stories of learning experiences and personal growth are the most important distinguishing factors for an interview, and these are precisely the stories that you will collect while traveling. Twenty years later, it is the trip to Greece where you almost got pickpocketed (true story) or the strenuous but gorgeous early morning climb up Machu Picchu that you will still be talking about, not your first corporate experience after Freshman year.
Relax. While having an internship during your Freshman summer may potentially give you an advantage, it is not quite as romantic or idyllic as it sounds. To begin, very few firms are even willing to hire Sophomores, let alone Freshmen who have very little experience or exposure to the skills and concepts needed for the job. Thus, even when Freshmen are hired, often times it is to do the grunt work with very little practical gain aside from a new line on their resumes.
Traveling, however, is understandably difficult in terms of financial and time constraints. However, the point is not just to take an extended vacation with resorts and tourist traps, but simply to explore something new. A viable and rewarding option for many students is participating in global volunteer programs such as Penn International Business Volunteers or Penn Microfinance. Summer is also an ideal time to study abroad through Penn Summer Abroad or independent universities. Excellent summer opportunities are everywhere, and all you have to do is look past the Penn internship bias.
Perhaps to some, this small benefit is worth it. But summer is freedom, and Freshman summer is the last summer for a couple of years that you will NOT have to sacrifice for internships and other career advancement programs. This, in effect, is the last summer in which you will get to choose what to do and where, without regard to how it will make you a more attractive job candidate. Although I would not recommend spending it glued to a TV for five out of seven days a week, there are plenty of other alternatives besides business internships that you should consider. The one, in my opinion, with the most worthwhile satisfaction, is traveling: gaining new experiences before you get tied up, spending quality time with family before life gets out of control, and creating new stories that are far more valuable than the ones you would have from most internship experiences as a Freshman. The
So be it studying abroad, visiting international relatives, or taking a family trip through Europe (my personal choice), be openminded and keep the option open for the summer after Freshman year. Everyone has different traveling experiences that leave one with different effects, but whatever it is, I can guarantee that it will not be regret.
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