CE NYC: Intern Journal Entry Winners

Each summer at Career Explorations, interns are asked to write a journal entry detailing their internship experience. Some interns write about attending a memorable event such as an industry meeting or describe a meaningful conversations with an internship mentor, while others detail how the internship experience has affected future career or college plans. CE Staff select the most insightful entries and post excerpts here.

Congratulations to our New York winners, Christopher Chyung and Amanda Satsky!

Journal Entry Excerpt from Christopher Chyung, Hotel Management Intern:

“Hi, nice to meet you,” said my mentor. “Welcome. I need you to get up to speed on New York City hotels. Research things like occupancy, retail, $PSF, RevPAR, ADR, F&B, pro formas, things like that, you know? You can start by reading Starwood’s and Mandarin Oriental’s Annual Reports. Then we’ll get started on the Aman property. I need to run to a meeting, be back soon.”
It was my first day on the job, and I had lost count of the many unfamiliar terms to research before my mentor had even finished her request. Once she left, I stared blankly at my computer screen, wondering what exactly to type into the Google search bar. Did she say “FNB,” “FMB,” or “F&B”? Of the thousands of hotels in the city, how many do I have to research before I’m “done”? Suddenly, I craved structure, like a day at school, or familiar comforts, like home. I realized though that this was the “real world” and I better get to work.

I wanted to learn about the hotel industry this summer, so I buckled down, searched for the annual reports, and found everything she was talking about all in one place! Now to figure out the printer…

Needless to say, I’ve been learning a lot in my internship. I am happy that Career Explorations didn’t hold my hand through the process of getting acquainted with my company. Thanks to this amazing summer experience, I have really come to love the “real world” so far.

Journal Entry Excerpt from Amanda Satsky, Music Intern:

“Go to the store on 5th Avenue. Take your time, and look around while you are there. See who is purchasing what, and what seems to be most popular and buy it,” my mentor said. “I’ll see you later. If you have any problems, please call me.” This was a task I handled for my mentor at Chesky Records this morning, and although it may seem small, I found this task very significant.

Here I was working at one of the best record labels in New York City and my mentor, whom I have only worked with for fourteen days, trusted me with her credit cards. This woman barely knew me. I felt important, like my presence and a member of the staff was appreciated and valued.

The employee at the store who rang up my purchase asked me for ID. I showed him the Chesky Records business card, and he asked if I was Lisa’s “personal assistant.” I liked the sound of that. On my journey back to the office, I daydreamed about one day becoming, ‘Amanda Satsky- Chesky Record’s Producer’s Personal Assistant’ The title had a nice ring to it. Maybe someday, thanks to my internship this summer, it can become a reality.