Your Internship Is What You Make It – Even the Remote Ones

Before I explain the experience of applying and receiving a position in my out of state internship program I should introduce myself. My name is Kelly Karwowski and I am a senior advertising major concentrating in Account Management. I transferred into Klein after being a marketing major in Fox for about a year. Before Temple, I received my associate’s degree in Business Administration at Bucks County Community College.

I chose Temple because I loved the idea of being in the city and the amount of opportunity I would have post-grad. Temple also has an amazing network and community which can get you to amazing places. However, I wanted to try something new. I didn’t know if I wanted to stay in the city after graduation so I started searching for summer opportunities out of state.

I have family in San Antonio, Texas (where I’m doing remote classes from currently) and decided to search on LinkedIn for any open internships. Klein is big on LinkedIn networking and skills and with the advice from the career center and my professors I came across an internship program called Students+Startups. I hadn’t had any luck with any other internships in Texas so I applied. I sent my resume (which Klein approved and helped me perfect) and filled out a questionnaire. I didn’t think I would get in but I did, and thankfully they had just started accepting out-of-state students the previous year!

The application and interview process all happened pre-COVID, so obviously, things turned out a little different. Back in January, I attended a speed interview night remotely from my 1300 dorm room. I met with a bunch of startups and small businesses in San Antonio – which was a little nerve-wracking – but I  ranked my top three and eventually received an offer!

Originally, Students+Startups offered free (yes, FREE) housing to all students participating in the program. (You even get reimbursed if you have to travel to San Antonio) Housing was located at a hotel downtown, most internships were within walking distance. Our schedule was full-time for 10 weeks. We received pay via stipends every few weeks and also a scholarship sent to our schools. Students from all over the country applied, and while most were Texas students, there were two of us from Philly! I was the only student from Temple however so it was fun being able to talk about my experience going to school at Temple. The program seemed too good to be true but even when the pandemic started, I was thankfully able to keep my internship position and work remotely. I didn’t take advantage of the free housing or travel reimbursement because I decided to work remotely, but I was so appreciative that it was still available to students. It was hard to transition from being so excited about this opportunity – being out of state to work and live among other students – to working from my bedroom at home.

However, every experience is what you make of it. You will always get out what you put in.

While the program looked a little different this year, I was still so grateful to be a part of it and get involved in the startup scene in San Antonio. Students+Startups also piloted a fall program (which I am a part of this semester) and my company kept me on! I am so grateful to Klein for preparing me for the application and interview process. I am also grateful to S+S for continuing the program and still providing an amazing experience through networking events, game nights, and workshops. Even though the internship didn’t look how I had hoped, I was still able to succeed (over zoom) and learn so much.

The biggest lesson I learned was to take risks. Philly became a comfort zone and even though I could happily stay in the city, I took a chance on a feeling I wanted to go elsewhere. Even though I ended up staying home due to the pandemic, I took a chance to apply to a program I never thought I would get into.

Students+Startups Contact

Instagram: @studentsstartups

Website: https://studentsstartups.com/