Interns are the pledges of the business world.
I have spent all summer working as an intern at New Iron Media and I absolutely love it. To be brief, New Iron Media is a firm of “business mercenaries” who create revenue for clients through creating strategic relationships and providing thought leadership in the market.
It has been one of the greatest learning experiences of my life. I’ve learned so much about how marketing, sales, and communications work in the business world. But that’s not all. I’ve learned how to efficiently change light bulbs, clean glass doors, run errands around town, and use MacBooks.
Microsoft Excel has replaced Firefox as my most used program. I haven’t taken a math class since my Junior year of high school (I will be a Junior in college starting this Fall) and I am crunching numbers like an accountant.
All of these seemingly tedious tasks would have killed me had it not been for one major experience: pledging a fraternity. I understand that Greek life gets a bad rap these days, what with the typical binge drinking frat boy and all. But the thing is that the entire pledging experience teaches you to value the hard times because they make you stronger. By doing things you don’t want to do, you build a mental toughness that sticks with you. When called upon later in life, those skills return and you can become a leader in perseverance which will stimulate both your creativity and your production.
Now I’m not saying someone who has pledged a fraternity is necessarily stronger than someone who hasn’t. That’s all dependent upon their pledging experience. Some people just have to drink all day and that does nobody good. But for a fraternity that is worth anything, it builds character.
And character is what makes a great intern.
