Setting Sail for an InternSHIP

by Eddie Sonnie

I am in the President’s Leadership Program. One of the requirements to complete the program is getting an internship. That scared me a lot because the idea that I could be working unpaid isn’t in the cards for me (I have bills to pay!).

I have attended a few workshops on campus for internships, career fairs and also have talked to people at the Center for Career Planning, and they gave me so much knowledge about internships. It turns out that there are quite a few internships that are paid, and they actually pay really well! In addition, there are a bunch of opportunities right around Christopher Newport, most notably in the Newport News Shipyard and Riverside Hospital. We also have a great job and intern-searching website called Handshake. I have used it to get both of my on-campus jobs, and it has been helping me discover internships in the area.

One of my good friends is an accounting major, and he has an internship at an accounting firm that pays really really well. I didn’t want to ask him how much it paid, but just know that he offered to buy me an entire pizza one time, just because. Internships aren’t all about money, it’s about learning and getting experience, but getting a paycheck in addition to that experience is never a bad thing. I’m still in the process of finding the right internship for me and having it match my availability, but I know that I will find one.

At Christopher Newport, there’s always someone here to help you navigate uncharted waters.