Throughout my years at Hopkins, I’ve used my summers to develop skills, gain experience, and have some fun in between semesters. Here is what I did over my three summer vacations, starting from the summer after my first year!
Summer 1: The Summer of Seuss
After my first year as a Hopkins student, I decided to spend the summer doing what I love—acting. I picked up a job at Athleta, which was actually quite fun and useful for someone who was a self-proclaimed “gym girl” at the time. However, most of my summer was focused on working on the musical I had been cast in: “Seussical.”
Seussical, if you haven’t guessed, is based on Dr. Seuss’ books. I played Mayzie LaBird, a self-obsessed bird who is praised for her amazing tail. My costume (as you can see) was complete with a hot pink wig and feathery pink-boa-tail. This role was different from the ones I normally play, but I had so much fun.
This summer felt, in a way, like a continuation of my time acting at Hopkins. Performing in plays and taking various courses helped me keep up my skills—performing, singing, memorizing lines. By the time I got back to school, I felt ready to keep going and continue to get involved with theatre on campus. As it is with any hobby, you just have to keep practicing to improve!
Summer 2: My First Internship
The summer after my sophomore year, I wanted to gain some professional experience. Because I was a psychology major, I could see myself going in a few directions, from a research position to an office job. However, I realized I didn’t want to go into clinical psychology or even into research at the time; rather, I wanted to try something related to talent acquisition.
I was fortunate enough to land a “People” internship, which was how the company I worked for referred to their HR department. This role was heavily focused on talent acquisition, though it delved into other branches of HR as well. Being a hybrid internship, it was a great way to experience working from home as well as working in a beautiful office in Boston. The position also allowed me to learn about marketing, and I even got the chance to be a part of one of the company’s social media campaigns as an actor. I also met other talented, smart interns across all departments, and I truly felt I was doing real work for the company!
I found my courses in psychology and theatre helped me out a lot in terms of this internship. My theatre background gave me the confidence and improv skills to conduct interviews, while my background in psychology helped me in my ability to analyze candidates and brainstorm marketing ideas. Hopkins also does a great job in preparing you to handle rigorous work and balance your own to-do list—which are both so important in any professional experience.
Summer 3: Sales Pitches By Heart
The summer after my junior year, I was offered an interview for a tech sales internship. While I had never thought about a sales job, I was intrigued by the opportunity and thought it might be fun to give it a shot! After all, college is the time to explore, try new things, and think about potential career paths.
I was fortunate enough to land the position, and this time I got to experience a fully in-person job. Once again, I felt as though I was doing real work for the company—making cold calls, setting up meetings, creating email cadences complete with my own Canva- designed flyers. My psychology background was even more useful for this position, as I tried to think about the way our brains work when thinking of ways to approach potential clients. My theatre background also helped with my improv skills during cold calls and sales pitches.
My evenings were spent assistant-directing a musical, “Alice by Heart,” with a local theatre. The musical is a dark coming-of-age story that follows a young girl in a World War II bunker, trying to tell the story of Alice in Wonderland by heart. This was my first time directing such a large-scale production, but luckily, my experience directing with on-campus theatre groups like Witness Theatre and The Barnstormers helped prepare me to take on the challenge.
My college experiences truly influenced and empowered my summer activities, which in turn fueled my activities during the school year. The sky is the limit when it comes to what you can learn from your Hopkins experience—both in class and elsewhere on campus—and what you can accomplish with your summers! This is what I chose to do with my summer vacations, but there certainly is no right or wrong decision to make.
