July 27, 2020
Sitting outside on the patio of my brother-in-law’s apartment, I wait for the intern welcome Zoom meeting to start. It’s the middle of the summer in California and even in the shade, I was starting to sweat.
I glance inside to confirm that yes, my 18-month-old niece is still having a temper tantrum and it would be useless to go back inside. I get ready for an uncomfortable meeting.
Eventually the screen turns on and Mark’s forehead pops into view.
“There we go!” My supervisor says. “Sorry Mattea, we almost forgot about you!”
He sets his computer down and turns it so I now face the other interns. They sit around a long, white conference table and give me quick glances before resuming their conversations. My floating head sits alone — untouchable.
They sit only two states away in Lehi, Utah, with just a one-hour time difference, but in that moment, I feel doubt creeping in. How will I make lasting connections from so far away? How can I cultivate relationships from a laptop on a porch patio?
I could already picture these other interns coming into the office daily, laughing with our supervisors, and bonding over the free snacks in the break room. I resigned myself to the fact that this was going to be a lonely internship.
After a quick welcome, Mark outlines our responsibilities: learn as much as you can about the tech ecosystem in Utah, find interesting stories about Utah tech, interview CEOs at startup companies, organize quotes, and write stories.
Easy enough.
“Our last interns never seemed to follow up,” says one of our supervisors named Austin. “If you can always keep us updated on what you are working on, we would really appreciate it.”
This caught my attention. I couldn’t go into the office and have a face-to-face conversation with my supervisors, but I could follow up. I could follow up until California freezes over and falls into the ocean.
Right there on the patio my doubt lowered a smidge as I made the small goal to follow up with my supervisors every time I worked on something.
I set up a group chat with Austin and Mark the next day and started updating them consistently on what I was working on. I messaged them after every shift, informing them on what I had done, and asking for help or advice when needed. I wasn’t sure if I was annoying them, but I felt that it was a good place to start.
Often, they gave my messages a thumbs up, sometimes sending a quick, “Thanks, Mattea,” but nothing extraordinary happened.
I felt doubt creep back in, was this what cultivating a relationship with my supervisor looked like?
Mark and Austin had also created a group chat with us interns. Austin sent out daily writing advice and Mark posted a weekly list of story ideas.
“Isn’t this type of communication also a form of follow up?” I thought.
I decided it was, so I became THAT person — I answered the chat first, liked every message first, and picked story ideas first.
I’m sure it annoyed the other interns, but I started to forget about their opinions as my mindset changed to, “How can I best help my supervisors?” They wouldn’t know who read their advice if no one acknowledged it. A story couldn’t be written if no one claimed it.
Their jobs would be affected by my timely answers, so I followed up daily and answered group texts within the hour.
Once I got into the habit of messaging my supervisors daily and staying up to date on the group chat, I decided to bring in a new goal. While studying about how to create mentor relationships I found a nugget of wisdom that sounded easy enough — talk about life outside of work.
Before my next meeting with Austin and Mark I made a goal to say something about myself; something that didn’t have to do with work.
The meeting came and to open, they asked me how I was doing. Instead of just saying “fine,” I elaborated and told them I was excited for my weekend because I was going to go to the beach.
While small, this little piece I offered up opened the conversation and I found it easier to talk with them. In future meetings, I noticed their greetings became warmer, they asked more questions about me, and they shared more about themselves.
I showed them that I was more than an intern, I was human. In turn, they treated me like a co-worker and less like the untouchable floating head on a computer screen who writes articles and nothing else.
The hot California days passed by as I found a working pattern; answer group chats, listen to interviews, work on articles, message Mark and Austin daily. I slowly added other tasks: schedule interviews, prepare interview questions, plan an article series, zoom call Austin about editing, meet with Mark for performance evaluations.
The summer ended and I moved back to Utah for school.
My internship was almost finished and I excitedly went to meet my supervisors in person for the first time.
As the elevator took me to the third floor, I vaguely remember the other interns and wonder if any of them had seen this office in a new building. I never saw the old one so I have nothing to compare it to. This one is big and white and unornamented, but looks classy anyways.
Arriving on the 3rd floor, I walk around the office trying to find a familiar face. Someone directs me to the newspaper side of the office and I see Mark at the same time he looks up and sees me.
“Look who it is!!” booms Mark, “It’s Mattea, our best intern!”
He is really nice in-person, I muse, and taller than I had imagined.
Mark enthusiastically shakes my hand and proceeds to give me a tour. I meet everyone in the office and learn I am the first intern to visit the new office.
Nodding and smiling at all the new faces, I try to play down Mark’s enthusiasm as he introduces me to everyone as ‘our best and most talented intern.’
I’m even more surprised as people I have never met greet me by name and reference the articles I have written.
After our tour, Austin gets off a call and comes to meet me in person. I am excited to meet him. True to form, he speaks his mind, cutting through all this false-feeling praise. He looks both ways then takes me into a small side office. I assume we are about to discuss the latest article I’ve been working on.
Instead, as we sit down Austin turns to me conspiratorially and says,
“Thank you.”
I am sure I look shocked, so he reiterates,
“Really, you have been a big help, you have no idea what it is like working with interns that have no concept of writing or professionalism. Thank you for being so easy to work with.”
I sit stunned and mutter a small “You’re welcome.”
Right there in the new office, I realized that my goals, though small, impacted others in a big way. Working from home, I couldn’t understand my impact on the company, but as I talked with Austin, I learned how important communication was. I understood better the importance of creating relationships.
As I worked to align my goals with my supervisors’ visions, I helped them more than any intern with big dreams and personal agendas.
“After this summer, we have decided to not take on any more interns,” says Austin. “We are thinking of hiring someone part-time.”
“What are your plans after this internship?”
I start to get hopeful and the doubt I felt that first day, finally, completely vanishes.
“Well,” I say, “I am looking for a job…”