Why did I decide to pursue an internship?

As a senior at Eastern Michigan University, I can safely say that is very easy to go through your entire college career without ever taking advantage of anything but the academics.  I was not a member of any clubs (until this year: entrepreneurship club) and I did not pursue any internship opportunities until recently.  Not to say I wasn't interested, it just seemed daunting.

There are a handful of professors I have had at EMU that I would classify as ambitious, humble and effective.  For me, these characteristics in a leader (professor) are the key for me to maximize my learning capacity.  During the winter 2017 semester, Bud Gibson was my teacher for IS 239 (now MKTG 239): a class designed for students to learn the basics of Google AdWords, HTML and CSS.  Bud's teaching style was very effective and he quickly earned a lot of respect from me.

When I respect someone, I take their advice more seriously.  Bud would always make us aware of networking and internship opportunities throughout the course of the semester; the Summer Workshop was one of them.

 I sat in on a Summer Workshop meeting with the rest of the entrepreneurship club (<10 people) and the AMA club (>50 people) and listened to testimonials of interns that had already gone through the Summer Workshop; all of them had a lot of positive things to say about their experience. Hook.

At my next class with Bud, I spoke with him about the clinic and he encouraged me to pursue it.  Line.

Two weeks prior to the clinic application deadline, Bud reached out to me and suggested that I get my application in because he believed I would be a good fit for some of the company's on the internship roster. Sinker.

Had it not been for Bud's encouragement, I would not be at AdAdapted right now.  Sometimes it takes a nudge (or two) to move along and step out of your comfort zone to pursue bigger things.  Bud knew I was interested, and he helped connect me with an opportunity that could set me on the career path I desire.  I am eternally grateful to Bud and I would encourage any student in any field to consider taking a class or two with him.

Moral of the story: If you know that you're stubborn to the point that you aren't making moves, seek advice (and listen!) from people that you respect and admire; you never know what kind of opportunities may unfold.