No Summer Internship? Junior Urges Students to Build Their Own
May 13, 2020
Dan Murphy '21
With the COVID-19 pandemic scuttling summer internships, junior Dan Murphy urged students to think like entrepreneurs and build their own in a piece he wrote for EdSurge, an outlet that focuses on how tech is transforming education.
Murphy, who majors in economics with a minor in computer science, reflected on the time he spent in Silicon Valley last summer. Murphy was a student in Adjacent Academies, a joint venture of Entangled Solutions and Davidson College that offers intensive study of coding while also helping students network and navigate the ever-changing tech industry.
The lessons Murphy learned last summer in California are particularly valuable in the pandemic era.
“The experience helped me develop new skills that have transformed how I think about my personal and professional growth,” he writes. “It also taught me that there is a limit to how much we can control the unknowns in life.”
Among other things, Murphy urges students to capitalize on unexpected downtime by leaning into their passion.
“If there is a personal project or business opportunity you’ve been interested in trying out, there’s no better time than the present to dive into something new and challenging, acquaint yourself with failure, pick yourself back up again, and build the muscle needed for high-growth, lifelong learning,” he says.
Bottom line: Uncertainty brings challenges, yes, but also new opportunities.
“The current crisis is difficult, but for students who seek smart conversations about new ideas, build passion projects, fill gaps in their knowledge, and apply what they learn both in school and outside of it, this period may also offer chances to prepare for the future, uncertain as it may be.”
The full story is available on EdSurge.
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