From a young age, I have always been a planner. By the third grade, I had picked out all of the colleges that I was going to apply to, which ironically only included Ivy Leagues (dream big right?) This summer was no different. With plans to go back home to Seattle and intern for the local retail company I had worked for over the past year, I struggled to feel some excitement over my upcoming summer. Delusional and exhausted amidst my finals, I made the rash and completely uncharacteristic decision to ditch all previous plans. Instead of returning to the west coast, I was going to brave the heat of D-town, hopefully find an internship, and spend the next three months trying to answer the haunting question of what do I want to do with my life.
After searching for a few weeks, I stumbled upon a marketing/communications internship for the Dallas Entrepreneur Center. Within the first few minutes of my interview, it became obvious to me that this was a job that I desperately wanted. Trey, (my current boss and CEO of the DEC), was expressed so much excitement about The DEC and I could see just how passionately he felt about giving entrepreneurs the resources necessary to succeed. He was young, experienced, and a motivated guy with a vision. His altruism seemed compatible with my college can-do-anything-I-put-my-mind-to-because-I-am-invincible attitude. Just from our first interaction, I had already discovered a crucial lesson in the startup world – you’re only as big as your imagination. In order to be successful in an innovative environment, you have to think outside the box. To do this, means believing that anything is possible, even if that includes people questioning your mental stability. Steve Jobs said it best – the crazy ones who believe they can change the world are the ones that actually do.
Within the first few weeks, I had been delegated the tasks of monitoring our social media channels and overseeing all communicative assignments. I was ecstatic to be having some real responsibility, yet still yearned for more involvement within all aspects of the DEC. I sat down with Trey and Jennifer and asked if they could use my help in any other areas. Before I knew it, I was being invited to high profile meetings, getting involved with programming, and dabbling in the events. I learned that in any work environment I’m in, it is important to speak up, because you’ll most likely get heard and hopefully begin to move more in your desired direction.
Being in a startup environment is ideal for college kids – recognizing that startups essentially have no rules, usually have a young population, and curtail to our ADD tendencies due to the fast-paced, always evolving nature. Jeremy, Jennifer, and Trey were all adamant about reminding us and encouraging us to take risks – because in this world, there are no real mistakes. Startups give you the freedom to make your own rules and boundaries. Surprisingly, I found this freedom to be both liberating and confining. It was a relief to know that I couldn’t technically mess up – but rather that we would make decisions and reflect after if we wanted to replicate that again or move in a different direction. But, at times, it became frustrating to not have guidelines. You constantly doubt yourself on is this right or wrong – should I be doing this a different way? I found that the best way to deal is to trust your gut. Form an opinion, take the plunge, and be willing to accept criticism afterwards. Learn from your decisions and then move forward.
As I got ready to go to bed last night, my roommate and I were talking about our plans for the next day (we both have PR internships for different companies). She expressed her frustrations with the company culture, one in which she felt that she was constantly reminded that she was a “little” pawn in the grand scheme of things. In that moment, I had never been more appreciative of the DEC working environment. Not only did I realize that my opinions and ideas were valued amongst some of the most experienced entrepreneurs in the DFW ecosystem (this is unheard of amongst most internship programs), but that I was extremely lucky to feel comfortable here. My ability to crack jokes amongst my bosses, express concerns over developments within the office, or to ask for their advice at any moment was something most interns rarely achieved. Each of my bosses had graciously taken the time to get to know me, challenge me, and form a personal relationship with me/not to mention accept my sarcasm. This sense of comfortability is what allowed me to grow and challenge myself, letting go of all inhibitions. When looking for a job, I now know that the culture of the company is a huge factor in not only my success there, but my happiness as well.
While I can’t say I’ve fully figured out my life destiny, I can successfully say I couldn’t be happier with my spontaneous decision to stay in Dallas for the summer. It has been a challenging, exciting, and eye-opening three months.
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