Ending my junior year at Purdue, I had one goal for the summer: figure out what I want to do after graduation. I have always struggled with what to do for a career. In high school, I loved math and wanted to work with numbers. College calculus changed that. I tried marketing, but all those econ-based courses turned me off. Switching to Communications and Public Relations made sense to me and I haven’t looked back. That’s why I was so excited to land a summer internship with MISO’s communications team. The experience has given me a better understanding of who I am and what I want to do.

Throughout the summer, I immersed myself in the different areas of corporate communication. I focused on content creation, campaign planning, writing blogs and leading focus groups. The list goes on. I learned so many things along the way and I’d like to share a few with you.

Here are my top 11 takeaways from my 11-week internship:

1. Be confident

On my first day, I was terrified. But I remembered my mom always telling me to “fake it ‘til you make it.” I did my best to be confident in who I am and what I had to offer even though I had inner doubts and insecurities. Over the course of the internship, I worked on advocating for myself and sharing my opinions. The more I engaged with the team and our customers, the more my confidence grew.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Asking questions helped boost my confidence. At first, I thought I would be made fun of or sound stupid. That was never the case. No one expected me to know everything there is to know about MISO and the electric industry. However, they did expect me to learn. The more I learned, the more valuable I became as a team member and contributor.

3. Value your professional relationships

One of my favorite things about MISO has been the value placed on building strong professional relationships. I had a huge support system. My manager, mentor, team and intern buddies were there for me whenever I needed support!

4. Utilize your peers

My main focus over the summer was to improve how MISO engages with college students and the intern recruiting process. My intern peers turned out to be key subject matter experts. Working with my peers, I was able to create quality materials that will impact the intern recruiting process.

5. Time flies by

The 11 weeks flew by. Starting out, it seemed like such a long amount of time. In reality, I could have used a little more.

6. Take advantage of all the fun perks

There is always an event going on that either educates employees or celebrates them. Take advantage of all these fun things. Not only will MISO help advance your career, but they will educate you on important topics.

7. Everyone’s opinion matters

Even though I am an intern, I always felt like a valuable member of the team. I was always treated with the utmost respect and care. My thoughts and opinions were always heard and respected.

8. Take care of yourself

This summer I was hit with the unthinkable. A friend of mine suddenly passed away. It was hard for me to focus on work. I needed to step back and focus on taking care of myself which MISO allowed me to do. During this time, I discovered to perform well at work you must be in a good mindset.

9. You get out of it what you put into it

A friend of mine gave me this advice before starting this internship. In these 11 weeks I have found out how true it is. Soak up all the experiences and make sure to do everything possible to learn and grow.

10. Embrace the unfamiliar

With this being my first internship, I had to teach myself how to step out of my comfort zone. The internship program included activities to help me do this. Once I got over that hurdle, I felt like I was able to be a better team member.

11. Be open to new challenges

Throughout the summer, MISO put on many intern events that pushed us. One way we were challenged early in the summer was through the annual intern case challenge. Have an open mindset in new situations.

This internship exceeded my expectations. From the people, the organization and the work MISO does, I learned so many valuable lessons that will stick with me throughout my future career.