What You Taught Us

It doesn’t work like school.

This is the real world, and it doesn’t work like school. There is not necessarily immediate feedback, and there is much more responsibility to fend for oneself. But this also comes with many privileges, and an externship is an excellent time to experience them.

—Sophie Kornbluh ’16 of Evanston, Ill., externed with Alok Shah ’04, co-founder and senior research scientist, Emmyon Inc., Iowa City, Iowa. 

Stumbling can be profound.

Networking is a lot less intimidating — and a lot more fascinating — than I had imagined. I love listening to people’s stories and figuring out what they value in their careers; I think it lends a perspective that is missing in college life. A lot of them had stumbled into unexpected opportunities. What has really surprised me is the degree to which this stumbling is both the cause and the effect of a really profound understanding of one’s own skills and values. No one I talked to anticipated ending up where they did. But almost everyone had always been devoted to the skills and values that characterized their work. 

—Meredith Carroll ’16 of Grayslake, Ill., externed with Lura Barber ’03, senior policy analyst, National Council on Aging, Washington, D.C.

Because my host’s job involves a lot of communication, some marketing strategies and good leadership skills, I found out that those soft skills are as important — or even more important — than the hard skills. Leadership is a sophisticated science in real life; and if I can improve my soft skills, I will benefit a lot from them in my future career!

—Tina Chen ’16 of Nanchang, China, externed with Jennifer Halcrow ’87, vice president of advancement, MacPhail Center for Music, Minneapolis.

It’s a jungle gym out there.

My host says her career has been more like climbing a jungle gym than climbing a ladder. While she now works in sales, she once worked in marketing, and before that in consumer insights. She helped me realize the crossover between career paths and the ability to easily transfer from one career to another. This reassured me that I don’t need to fear being stuck in a career I hate because skills are very transferable. My host explained this idea in order to demonstrate the value of a liberal arts education. She said that liberal arts educations teach you how to think critically; in the workplace it is more important that you are able to think and learn than that you have a specific knowledge set related to the field. 

—Madeline Gray ’16 of Denver externed with Heidi Eggert ’95, global sales ecommerce lead, Nike, Portland, Ore.

Been there, done that!

Donning scrubs? Check! Squeezing pus out of an inflamed appendix? Check. Being clueless in the board meeting? Check! Using a stethoscope to hear the heartbeat? Check. Getting called “Doctor?” Check. While my first day was nothing like an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, spending 10 hours in the hospital was quite an experience.

—Mingzheng Ronald Foo ’16 of Singapore externed with R. Benjamin Johnston ’85, physician, Morris Hospital, Morris, Ill.

Scientists are artists, too.

Every doctor seemed more artist than scientist. They all had very distinct styles and personalities. The pediatric cardiologist, especially, was so careful and artful in the way he went about patching holes in the heart of a four-month-old. Because every child has slightly different anatomy drastically different from adults, pediatric surgeons have to be creative in figuring out the best steps to take and envisioning the best solutions to problems. In the same way, it was really a form of art the way the clinical doctors explained their findings to the patient after a physical evaluation and how they connected with the person they were talking to in order to make them feel more comfortable. 

—Dabney Hofammann ’15 of Birmingham, Ala., externed with Neal Fleming ’77, professor, Department of Anesthesiology, University of California-Davis.

Adults are adults>

It really is useless to be nervous or anxious about interacting with “adults.” Honestly, as long as you pester them about the details of their life, all goes well.  

—Isabel Monaghan ’16 of Oak Park, Ill., externed with Carter Newton ’77, publisher, Galena Gazette Publications, Galena, Ill.