How I Got GORPed

One Student's Journey to an Internship

After eleven faxes over three weeks, I had finally done it. My cover letter and resumÈ were drilled into their heads from faxing them non-stop. Regardless of how annoying I was, it paid off.

I received an email from Nicole Cinco, head designer at GORP.com, an outdoor travel Web site. I had been trying to get an internship there for about a month and now she wanted to interview me. The best part was they weren't offering any type of job or internship at all. I had just been a frequent visitor to their Web site and said to myself, "You know, I bet it'd be cool to work there." I saw they were located in the Flatiron district in New York's Silicon Alley. That was close by, so why not give it a shot?

Growing tired of answering phones at my old job, I had been looking for a graphic or Web design internship for a few weeks. I wanted to be creative and utilize my talent, not sit for eight hours every day. After a little persistence, I was almost there.

A little nervous and a little excited, I trekked downtown to talk to Nicole. I walked up to the eighth floor and sat in the reception area. I could hear the buzz of a growing dot-com roaring around the corner. Wide-eyed, I was soaking in the atmosphere.

Nicole came over and we went straight to the conference room to talk. I was comfortable — far from intimidated. There were some simple questions about my resumÈ. I laughed and apologized for sending it in so many times. She said, "Don't worry about it, that's what you're supposed to do. At least you were focused."

We walked around the office. It was really enticing. A wide-open space with rows of tables — there were no cubicles or divisions, not even for the two heads of the company. Computers on the desks separated the workers. Everyone appeared to be equal and a part of the GORP team.

Nicole showed me where my seat would be if I worked for them in the design department. "No, you won't be making copies or answering phones here," she assured me. That was one big relief off my mind. She added, "You'll be doing a lot of photo research, retouching and some scanning, nothing too glamorous."

Like that mattered, I just wanted to start doing something productive.

As I prepared to leave, I shook her hand, thanked her and left. I got on the elevator and let out a nice big, "Woo-hoo!"

I didn't go through Career Planning. I didn't go through any special database of internships. I just saw something I wanted to do, went for it and got it.

About an hour later I went back to my old job. I received an email offer to come work for GORP.com as a part-time graphic design intern. Wasting no time, I replied back with a yes and a thank you.

I've been working there for just over a month. It's great. I do all of the things Nicole initially described to me and more. I get different little jobs to do and when I finish they seem to really appreciate and like what I do. It's a good feeling — almost as good a feeling as getting the job all on my own.