Graphic by Helen Schmitt ’15

By Emma Hierholzer ‘15

Many of Sherwood’s juniors have had thoughts of internships pass through their minds as senior year is fast approaching and junior year comes to a close. With impending seniority comes more freedom and many seniors choose to exercise this newfound liberty by signing up for an internship. With a half-day schedule and valuable experience in a field of a student’s interest what is not to love about the opportunity? However, alluring as it seems, there are definite problems that can happen in these internships.

Imagine showing up on your first day of that big-name internship with hopes of gaining some real world experience only to be told that you’ve been assigned to the paper-stapling job – for the entirety of your stay. Even with that letdown, in the end you decide to keep with the job, saying that your affiliation with such a well-known institution will surely compensate for your less than exciting tasks ahead.

Now, I’m not blaming anyone for making that choice since it’s no news that interning under a big company with a well-known name has its benefits. Rather, I’m trying to suggest that too often are naive students put in these unfair situations that ultimately allow companies to have nearly free labor at the expense of an intern’s time and energy. If all an intern is used for is the completion of the boring tasks that no one wants to do, it begs that question of why? Why spend all that time doing nothing but coffee-runs and copy machine trips when the purpose of an internship is to gain real-world experience in a future career field, not become the slave of a company’s undesirable tasks.

Many companies or well known law firms use this power over its interns. They effectively lure students into internships that promise practice in supposed work skills and when students realize the truth, they feel trapped between letting the job go for something far more productive or keeping the position in hopes of gaining valuable “connections.”

Fortunately, for any internship, big or small, there are rules that the sponsors for that position must follow in order to maintain an ethical and productive internship. In the Montgomery County internship handbook for sponsors, it lists the rules for the hours, treatment and placement of interns in an attempt to deter any shady activities with the students.

Although these precautions may avoid any illegal situations or criminal undertakings with student interns, the rules don’t always guard students from “clerical” work. Companies can claim that this kind of work gives students experience in the real world since exposure to common office tasks could help them in future jobs. However, I feel that this, under no circumstances, justifies giving interns jobs that never allow them to gain real familiarity with their field of interest. Sure, the prospect of giving interns actual responsibilities may sound daunting to many big-name companies, but it is only through trust that students can truly get a glimpse on what their field of interest demands rather than become masters of stapling papers.