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Hi blog readers!

School has been out for about a month now, which is hard for me to believe. This summer is already flying by! Summers are important to college kids. It’s the time for

internships, jobs, and the pool. This is the first summer I won’t be back in my hometown of Seattle, WA, and as people like to keep reminding me, it is also my last summer of college (and last summer… ever?!). Frankly, I’m terrified that I’m going to be a senior - can’t this summer last forever?

So what am I doing with my all-important summer vacation? I’m staying in Los Angeles, living in my sorority house, and working 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park. Actually, I’m a Getty Intern, which means I achieved the impossible and got a paid internship! I’m an intern in the communications and marketing department, which means I spend a lot of my day on the computer managing social media websites, updating the Autry’s official website, answering emails, producing copy, and doing research. (The photo is of me in my office - you can just barely make out my intern badge!)

I won’t lie, it was hard at first getting used to working a 40-hour work week. I’m basically sitting at a computer for seven hours a day, my shoulders ache, and I have to wear nice clothes and keep my shoes on. But everybody I work with is very welcoming, and I immediately felt like part of the team. I’m about three weeks in, and I am really enjoying both the work I do and the people that I work with. Which is all you can ask for, right?

The story of how I got the internship is interesting. I had actually already secured an internship with a fashion PR firm in Beverly Hills, but spotted the posting for this one in late April. It looked like an amazing opportunity, but it was much too late to be applying for internships. Even so, I went out on a limb and emailed my now-supervisor, telling her that even though I had no materials prepared, not even a cover letter, I wanted this job more than anything and if hired, I would prove it. She hired me, and I’m proving it now! I’ve gotten all of my internships on my own (what’s the CDC? \sarcasm), so if you have questions about getting internships (especially in communications/PR) shoot me an email! I’m full of advice that my little sister won’t take.

My friends are doing all sorts of different things. I often commiserate with another friend working 9 to 5 for a marketing analysis firm (another paid internship! Look at us). Other friends are traveling on research grants and working part-time internships and part-time jobs. On weekends, we rest our work-weary bodies at the pool and eat frozen yogurt. This whole adult thing isn’t so bad so far!

To the incoming first years, I hope you’re spending your summer with your high school friends and relaxing a lot – it’s one of the last times I can remember taking that much time to do absolutely nothing! College, and more specifically, Oxy, will change your life, so you better rest up for the adventure that awaits (trust me, you’ll be glad you’re well rested when you show up). Some of my friends are Oxy Engage and O-Team leaders and they’re all getting ready to make sure you have the best first-year experience! We’re excited to meet you.

To everybody else, but especially my fellow rising seniors: hang in there, and I’ll see you at the York.

Love,

Madi