While some Jumbos saw winter break as a chance to catch up on some much-deserved sleep, others viewed it as an opportunity to build their resumes. With the help of career services, several students participated in "winternships" - brief internships during the break.
Sophomore Lorraine Vigilia, who winterned at Burson Marsteller, said the experience "is invaluable...I was able to learn about the public relations world as a whole and the different aspects within it, particularly public affairs. The saying is absolutely true: experience is the best teacher."
Viglia was one of eight students winterning at Burson-Marsteller, a prestigious international public relations firm, at its office in downtown Manhattan. She added that important parts of her winternship were the 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. workday and the chance to experience an office atmosphere, complete with cubicles and a water cooler.
Students participating in the winternship program do not receive paid compensation or housing and travel stipends and often have to make an early morning commute to their workplaces. So what would motivate someone to spend a week of their winter vacation working?
Some students say that the experience gave them a glimpse of what may lie in the future. Vigilia participated in the winternship program because she wanted to see what life after Tufts might look like, career-wise.
"The winternship program looked like a good way to start exploring my interests," Vigilia said. "Spring semester was approaching and so were those Declaration of Major forms. What better way [to examine my options] than to get hands-on experience and talk to alumni in the fields I was interested in?" She said the application process wasn't too strenuous and that the location and time of the winternship were convenient for her.
For seniors, the road to the real world is more immediate. Senior Melissa Small enjoyed participating in the winternship program as a sophomore, and with graduation coming this May, she did it again.
"I'm interested in possibly pursuing public relations as a career after I graduate this spring, so the Burson-Marsteller winternship seemed like a good opportunity to learn about the industry," Small said.
Small commended the winternship program, but said that one negative was its one-week duration. In previous years, students were able to wintern for two full weeks, but this year's holiday calendar conflicted with scheduling.
"Although I learned a lot at my winternship, one week was too short of a time," Small said. "The program should be extended to two weeks again like it was in the past."
Senior Sara Matsuzaka, who also was at Burson-Marsteller, said that while the winternship was short, she still used it to network and to learn about the firm.
"This winternship gave me the opportunity to be the best 'fly on the wall' I could be at Burson-Marsteller, and gage whether I could see myself working there," Matsuzaka said. "At the very least it spiced up my resume."
Even the act of getting to work proved to be a learning experience for some participants. Boston-resident Small stayed with a relative during her winternship and learned about living in New York City.
"[The winternship] also gave me the chance to know New York and helped me decide whether or not I would want to relocate there next year," Small said.
Vigilia commuted from northern New Jersey to her winternship via bus with her mother and aunt, who also work in Manhattan..
"Getting to an 8:30 a.m. class on campus is nothing compared to waking up at 5:45 or 6 a.m. to get ready and catch the bus," Vigilia said. "But on the plus side, I finally figured out the subway system, and the commute teaches you to be more independent." After the change in schedule, she said, "waking up for an early morning class doesn't look too bad anymore."
Despite some minor travel difficulties, these students' overall responses were extremely positive.
"This is a decidedly unique program because of the intensity of involvement in such a brief time," Matsuzaka said. "Learning how to most effectively use the winternship period to your best advantage is a definite positive. You don't leave a program like that empty-handed, but it's definitely matters what you do with it."
