1.This past summer I had the opportunity to intern at Nationwide as a Personal Lines Field Product Intern. During my time, I was able to work in a corporate setting while getting the chance to do impactful work through daily policy and agency review requests, our summer long capstone project, and networking with professionals throughout the whole company. At the end of the summer, I gladly accepted an offer to continue working throughout the school year.
2. I went into the internship with zero expectations for how I thought the summer would go. Although I had zero expectations, I had objectives for the internship that I wanted to complete, which included always giving my best effort and attitude, networking with as many people as possible, learning as much as I could through asking questions, and ultimately showing that I deserve to have an offer to return at the end. All these mentioned objectives above were a challenge for me, but I learned a lot about myself in the process.
The three main things that I learned about myself were my willingness to work hard, my perseverance, and lastly my ability to step out of my comfort zone. During summer, nobody wants to wake up at 7 a.m. and start working a new job in an industry where you have limited knowledge. Although this may be the case, I was ready to attack every day with a willingness to work hard and learn. I learned more about insurance and how to work in the corporate world more than ever this summer. Next, during our summer long capstone project, I ran into many challenges that frustrated me. It was easy to feel defeated and want to quit, but I persevered and gave the best presentation I ever have before. Lastly, I learned that it is not too hard to go out of your comfort zone even if you are introverted or nervous. I was able to network with hundreds of professionals throughout the company and leave an impression on them. Additionally, I asked more questions than I have ever even considered in a classroom setting and it could not have been more beneficial for myself. I saw all three of these traits grow and strengthen over this internship.
3. The first event that showed my willingness to work hard happened halfway through the summer. One week I was given the responsibility to complete five agency reviews, a policy review while also balancing my capstone project and various intern events throughout the week. This was a challenge of time management because I had to work efficiently and effectively to ensure all this work would get done. The way that I went about completing all this work was through planning. I looked ahead at my calendar and saw what free time I had and how long it would take me to complete all these tasks without falling behind. I learned a lot about how I work on a deadline, and how I can handle pressure. Through my willingness to work hard I was able to complete all my assignments accurately, while balancing intern events and working on the capstone project.
Next, I saw a growth in my ability to persevere when faced with adversity. The capstone project was given to us with not many guidelines to follow and not a certain direction to go. This was initially a challenge that I faced because I did not know as much about the insurance world as some of the other interns did because they had prior experience. It was frustrating because every time I came up with an idea it felt like it was shot down right away, and I did not exactly know what to do. I thought that I was never going to be able to find anything worth presenting on, and I thought that others on the team would not think I was worthy to get a return offer. I came in the next week with a clear mind and finally stumbled onto an idea thanks to the help of asking questions to my manager and others on the team. My idea to present on ended up being a great success and many people reached out to me after to get access to my work and tell me that I did a great job presenting. Having all that happened made me feel so relieved that I persevered through the adversity and still gave it my all even with challenges. In the past, I might have quit or gave up on problems that I was faced with. So, all in all, I saw major growth in my perseverance.
Lastly, I saw a change in my ability to go out of my comfort zone. Sometimes it is hard for me to open up to new people or ask questions in front of a room of people. I knew that this had to change for the summer and the rest of my life. I wanted to make a good impression on others around me, so I decided to be willing to meet anyone and everyone. This worked out well because I was able to network with over hundreds of Nationwide professionals. Below is a picture of one of our many networking events. One person helped me with getting out of my comfort zone by coming up to me first. She was very friendly, and I felt comfortable going to her with any problems that I was having or just to talk. We stayed in contact the whole summer getting lunch multiple times together too. I felt like I made a great connection during my time this summer, and I do not think that would have happened had I not been determined to get out of my shell. This change is something that I will continue for the rest of my life.
4. I think the growth in all three of those traits of mine will be impactful for the rest of my professional career. After I am done with school, I will be working for the rest of my life and that will not change. It is important to have a willingness to work hard and show up every day with a good attitude. If I want to advance in my career and move up the ranks, then I will have to show that I am worthy to do that through hard work. Additionally, no matter how much you dislike them, there will always be challenges that you face in your life. It is not about how many you are faced with, but how you respond to them. Being able to persevere through being faced with adversity will always need to be a trait of mine. It is okay to fail and mess up, but the most important thing is how you respond to failure and learn from it. Lastly, as nerve-racking as going out of your comfort zone can be, if I want to succeed, I am going to have to take risks. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. I am always going to have to network and meet new people and ask questions. Being able to step outside of your normal routine and change your ways is important and necessary for the rest of my professional life.