Welcome Back
Hello everyone, my name is Lydia Williams. I am the Plano Chamber’s 2019 Special Projects Intern through the Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship Program. Thank you to Cigna for sponsoring my internship. I am a rising junior at Plano East Senior High School, and this is my Intern Blog! If you are new to my blogs feel free to CLICK HERE and read my first entry!
The Bad Driver Eats Hot Dogs
Over these past two weeks my experiences with the Chamber have become more and more alluring. For starters, I attended my first ribbon cutting at Riverbend Sandler Pools. Naturally, I insisted on driving myself because that is what every newly licensed driver would do. This happened to be the day that the light at Plano Pkwy and 15th Street was out, which gave Google Maps the opportunity to have me explore every residential area in the city of Plano. Five frustrating detours later, I resorted to my nonexistent knowledge of the Plano area. Although I was a few minutes late, I arrived at Riverbend Sandler Pools safely and enjoyed the ribbon cutting.
The iconic Fourth of July Business Interchange was the next day, which meant we’d be feasting on hot dogs for breakfast! All the Chamber staff had been hyping this day since I arrived, and I never understood why. Having this experience has made me confident that eating hot dogs with members of Plano Chamber is best for staff morale. These unusual episodes have only further prepared me for whatever pleasant things the Plano Chamber has planned for me.
The Intern Goes Ivy
Giving the opening statement in the Mock Trial
Now onto some less weird, non-Chamber related experiences. A week later, I boarded a plane to New Haven, Connecticut, The home of Yale University, to attend the National Student Leadership Conference. I studied the program’s Law & Advocacy course and argued for the defense as lead attorney in a mock trial tournament. If you ask anyone in attendance, they’ll explain that our first night consisted of running across campus in suits while it rained. I am certain they did not intend to force the nation’s future attorneys into such dangerous conditions. Nonetheless, this was the ultimate bonding experience.
Apart from running in the rain, my suite-mates and I set a record of 36 hours of sleep in 9 days. That’s 4 hours of sleep per day. Of course, this occurred due to the daunting mock trial tournament at the end of the week; in which my team placed 3rd. Putting the stressful conditions aside, I became completely enamored with the legal process. The entire experience was absolutely riveting and I loved all 180 hours that I was awake for (except the rain). Our amazing lecturer, Yale Law Professor Noah Messing said, “If you love every minute of this; you’re on the right path.” This declaration has only emboldened my appetite for a legal career. He even explained that our time here would be representative of our career as practicing attorneys. Including the immense lack of sleep.
New York City
Meet the latest visitor of Kings College!
After this marvelous peek into my professional aspirations, my dad and I explored something even more horrifying; college admissions. We boarded the Amtrak and went to New York with the anticipation that I’d be touring Kings College … I mean Columbia University (notice the Hamilton reference?) the next day. The most intimidating part of the visit were the freshmen moving into John Jay and Hamilton dorms for their orientation. Their faces wore expressions of excitement and angst and understandably so. They were preparing to live and study at an Ivy League School that produced founding fathers and matchless authors after all. In short, they had pretty big shoes to fill… no pressure. Putting my college nerves aside, touring reminded me how hard I should work in my internship for success this summer. Furthermore, this work ethic is applicable to academia and activities . It should be all at 110%.
Lydia’s Lucrative Lesson’s for Interns
My coffee addiction following me to Case Prep!
- Your coffee addiction will never stop following you.
- Your coworkers have a lot of exciting things to share, listen to what they have to say!
- Bring an umbrella everywhere you go – especially New Haven!
- Finding your passion will make your career enjoyable.
- Referencing Hamilton in New York annoys everyone.
- Accepting the fact that college is scary is the first step to the admission process.
- Take risks or you get nowhere!
- Remember, bring your lunch so you don’t spend all your money.
- Traveling is fun, do as much as you can.
- GO TO SLEEP! GO TO SLEEP! GO TO SLEEP!