As I stood in my dormitory, I ran over my mental check list one last time: tie, sports coat, tie bar, resumes, pen and paper. I had everything. It was a sunny afternoon in mid September and I was on my way to the career and internship fair at the Ohio Union. When I first heard that there was going to be a career and internship fair at the Union, I experienced a mix of emotions. On the one hand, this was a fantastic networking opportunity and perhaps it was even an opportunity to earn an internship. On the other hand, I was (and at the time of this publication still am) just a freshman. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the professional world in the first couple months of college, it’s that earning an internship as a freshman makes you an anomaly. Regardless, I decided that the worst thing that could happen would be being denied; not the end of the world when you still have three months of college left. Thus, I decided to go down to the Union despite the fact that the odds were stacked against me.

Having done some research beforehand, I had a list of potential employers that I wanted to talk to. The first employer on this list was Battelle. Battelle is a private research institute that does a large amount of cooperative work with the United States government. As I have mentioned before in my “About Me” post, I have a desire to work in cyber security upon graduation from Ohio State. One of the areas that Battelle specializes in is, in fact, cyber security. After speaking with the Battelle representatives, it was clear that Battelle was not currently recruiting freshmen. However, this fact didn’t crush my hopes and dreams; as previously stated, I had come to terms with the fact that the odds of me getting an internship freshman year were long.

After talking with several other government and private agencies, it became apparent that few employers were interested in recruiting freshmen. However, I still consider this experience to have been quite valuable, For one, it took me outside of my comfort zone. Events such as this one have always felt foreign to me. However, I now have some experience in this area. Additionally, I believe that it showed a certain amount of initiative on my part. Perhaps one of these employers will remember me next year as that freshman who came to the job fair despite the long odds. Finally, I believe that this career and internship fair served as a type of “test run” for me. Next year, when the chance of getting an internship are increased, I will have this experience under my belt and I will be able to hone my people and communication skills in an attempt to give myself the best chance possible in the future.