Spring break is upon us. For some, that means beaches, booze, and maxing out Daddy’s credit card. But for those of us with a future, it means the swift arrival of the deadline to apply for summer internships. The competition is fierce–many students wind up settling for internships that provide little real-world experience, or they simply don’t get one at all. But one brave Newhouse student has dared to challenge all that. Meet Dawson Josephs: the first ever self-employed intern.
The Kumquat: So, Dawson. What inspired you to make this radical move in the face of such a dominant academic custom?
Dawson Josephs: Well, to be honest, I was really banking on interning for Viacom this summer. But I forgot to delete all the pictures of me drinking champagne with the boys at our Oscars party on Facebook, so they denied me. But then I thought of my dad, who runs his own custom birdhouse business from our basement, and thought to myself: ‘Heck, if Dad can be his own boss, why can’t I be my own intern?’ And from there, I just ran with it.
The Kumquat: Truly revolutionary. Could you walk us through an average day in the office as your own intern?
Dawson Josephs: Well, I always make sure to show up to work on time, since I’m pretty strict about punctuality. Then I’ll make a run to Starbucks and get my usual order: a grande caramel macchiato with skim milk—can’t forget the skim milk, otherwise I’ll be passive aggressive to myself all day. Since I’m the social media intern, I’ll normally log onto Facebook, check the most recent likes and views on my page, track the successes and failures of certain posts, and calculate the amount of online impressions I’ve made in the past week. It can be stressful because I am usually breathing down my own neck, making sure I’m not just surfing the web…you know how college kids are. Besides that, I don’t do too much—sometimes I have to go to the post office and pick up packages for myself, or make copies of different reports and memos that I need for the archives.
The Kumquat: That sounds great! Is the internship paid?
Dawson Josephs: Well, no, but I think it’s worth it just for the experience. I’m learning valuable skills that are truly essential for making it in this industry. And that in itself is worth more than the money, in my opinion.
The Kumquat: Would you recommend self-interning to other students in your position?
Dawson Josephs: Absolutely. I get to make my own hours, determine my own day-to-day tasks, and completely exploit myself as a source of free labor. It’s really the best of both worlds.
The Kumquat: Thank you for taking the time to sit down with us, Dawson. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.
Dawson Josephs: Anytime. I best be getting back to the office anyways, I’m pretty anal about letting the interns take breaks.
