In case you haven’t checked your LinkedIn recently, the words “I’m pleased to announce...” are constantly filling feeds as Trojans post new updates about their summer plans.
As it turns out, the East Coast is just the beginning of internship destinations. Sophomore mechanical engineering student Brooke Decker is headed all the way to Spain for work.
“I haven’t taken Spanish since junior year. We’ll see how we get there, but I can’t study abroad with my major, so this is the closest I’ll get, so I’m excited,” Deker said. “It looks really pretty. I’m trying to get through finals first, and then we’ll prepare.”
Dana Hammerstrom, a senior journalism student, is also headed abroad this summer, but for a different reason. She’ll be celebrating her graduation before starting her full-time job.
“I’m going to some cities in Europe, and then I’m going to Japan and Seoul, and Korea. I think it’s gonna feel weird because this is my last summer before I enter adulthood. I’m starting a job in August, so it’s kind of like my first day of freshman year of adulting,” Hammerstrom said. “So I think I’m gonna try to let myself really take it easy and have a good time and try not to stress about what’s coming next.”
Hammerstrom was sitting outside Cafe Dulce with one of her closet friends, Sonia Mehta, a senior studying intelligence and cyber operations. She has mixed feelings about graduating and a job lined up in Dallas.
“It’s definitely emotional, graduating and kind of moving on with the next chapter of your life, but it’s also super exciting to have a fresh start,” Mehta said. “I’m excited to move to a new city that I haven’t really spent a lot of time in, meet new people, start my job, and just kind of experience adulthood, I guess, for the first time.”
Near Tommy Trojan, Shubh Gangar paused his grad photo shoot to share where he’s headed after school. The computer science grad student will be joining Amazon at the end of June.
“I’m freaking out about it. It’s like the best feeling, because the current market is not so good, and getting a job right now, it’s a pretty good feeling to be honest,” Gangar said.
Like Gangar said, the job market can be rough right now.
Danielle Dombrowki, a sophomore in aerospace engineering is starting to understand this. She has yet to land an internship, but she’s staying optimistic.
“I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m still trying to look into internships, but I’m not too sure,” Dombrowki said. “I feel like it’s a bit stressful, but the people here are supportive, so hopefully it goes good.”
Regardless of where the summer and beyond take you, good luck! There’s no doubt the future is bright.