Humanities Internship Spotlight
Gabi Jones | Alexus Jordan | Sofia C. Magalde
Humanities students gain valuable, career-ready skills through their coursework and co-curricular programs. Internships offer an essential opportunity to apply these skills in real-world settings, explore potential career paths, and gain professional experience. For many students, completing an internship is a key step in successfully transitioning from college to the workplace.
My internship at Patent Law Works over the summer was incredibly helpful in getting me prepared for law school and my future career as an attorney. I gained a lot of experience handling files and the legal process, and I received countless pieces of advice from the attorneys at my firm on how to succeed on my admissions test and in law school.
Overall, I really appreciated how involved I was able to be during my time there. From sitting in on meetings to organizing case files and prepping documents for filing, I had the chance to see firsthand how a law office runs on a daily basis. Watching how attorneys manage their time, communicate with clients, and balance multiple cases at once was eye-opening. These experiences helped me feel more confident about entering law school, knowing I have a stronger understanding of how the legal world operates in practice, and it helped me solidify my decision to go to law school after graduating.
I was able to apply many of the skills I developed through my communication classes at the University of Utah. My background in marketing strategies, strong writing abilities, and attention to detail all played a big role in helping me succeed during my internship. Whether I was preparing documents, organizing case files, or communicating with colleagues, I found myself constantly drawing on what I learned in class. It was rewarding to see how those skills translate into a real-world legal setting and contribute meaningfully to the work being done.
One of the main things that drew me toward this internship was that my primary role would involve communicating with the public. I enjoyed being able to help people and solve any issues that arose.
I had several opportunities to learn new skills and strengthen existing ones during my internship at Horrocks. One of the most valuable areas in which I grew was communication, which aligned closely with my major. I learned how to clearly convey complex project details, resolve conflicts, and communicate with my project team for support, tasks, and basic project information. This significantly strengthened my ability to actively listen, solve problems, be proactive, and communicate with purpose. This skill not only improved my professional life but also enhanced my personal relationships. I became more confident in speaking, writing outreach materials, and having quality conversations with those around me.
While my experience during the internship was beneficial, I also faced challenges, such as being spread thin between school, life, and work. Balancing it all was difficult but also incredibly rewarding. I had to learn how to manage everything in a way that worked for me. Knowing that the process is different for everyone, for me, it meant setting a schedule, sticking to it, and prioritizing my mental health so I could show up fully for everything I needed to do.
Having an internship in the career field I aspired to was eye-opening and deeply important. It helped me realize that I enjoyed the work and that it was where I wanted to be. It also made me understand that if I ever stopped enjoying it, I had the ability to pivot to something else.
This internship was something I had been incredibly excited to be a part of. I was drawn to it because I had been doing website design and marketing for a few years and thought it would be a great opportunity to expand my skills and knowledge. The internship was also with a travel company, which could open doors for me to travel with them. My major prepared me for this internship and I learned this as I worked to design an app. I had to think of ways for the company to communicate effectively with navigators through a screen. Words and design were essential in helping establish the application and in determining how it would generate sales for the company. I was extremely passionate about travel and how it helps open the human mind and benefits individuals in so many different ways.
The skills I brought into the internship were essential to executing the application. The most important skill was understanding the company and what they were trying to sell. This allowed me to use my design and website creation skills to develop a super navigable and straightforward application version of their current website. Learning new skills and applying existing ones during the creation of this application allowed me to help other independent contractors build their websites and later convert those into downloadable applications for their phones. Almost every company would likely show interest in this, leaving me with countless opportunities to help them reach their goals.
Throughout the internship, I faced many challenges in making the application incredibly simple and easily navigable while still including every tiny detail needed. Although these challenges made the process difficult, they led to multiple revisions that helped me build new skills each time. I would pursue something like this again, as long as I can balance it with my life. I found it challenging to maintain balance, especially since it was an unpaid internship. I believe the best way to find that balance is through a paid internship, so there's no need to worry about a second job or covering basic expenses. That would be my best advice to other students.