Sorry for the lack of posts – We’ve been busy visiting as many of our student interns as possible. With over a hundred students interning for credit this Interim – well you can guess how short on time we have been. But WOW. I had no idea how amazing these meetings would be. Gusties truly are inspirational.
I should mention that when I was at Gustavus I didn’t do an internship. If I had, I could have known YEARS earlier that becoming a lawyer wasn’t for me. With this background, I deeply admire the gumption (as my grandma would say) that you guys have for tackling a possible career field early on and finding out if it’s a fit. You benefit immensely either way – You discover that the career isn’t what you pictured and have time to re-trace your steps and find what will suit you, or you get to fall in love with your future career before you even officially begin it. BIG benefits.
So this week I have visited four interns – two at Methodist Hospital in the cities and two in various dental clinics. Now I have no real interest in healthcare other than I’m glad to have access to it when needed. While I can watch shoot-’em-up movies without a thought, the moment a surgery flashes on the screen I get repulsed and immediately change the channel. So I wasn’t expecting to have much to talk about with these interns – what a ridiculous expectation!
Listening to each intern describe their experience, I was in AWE. They were SO excited about what they had done, enthusiastic about their internships, and clearly soaking up every last detail of their days. How inspiring to hear how they had sought out their internship and then to hear how it had changed them, shaped them, and deeply excited them.
Open heart surgeries, angiograms, c-sections, wisdom tooth extractions, bone grafting, and the careful crafting of dentures. These students could barely contain themselves with glee!!
Thanks for sharing your drive, your enthusiasm, and your experiences with us – I can’t wait to see what Gustie interns continue to do in the future!
(Kevin, one of the Methodist interns, who was able to speak with us by ducking out briefly in the middle of an open heart surgery… wow)