Moving to Philadelphia for a summer internship with the University of Pennsylvania's Sports Performance has been the most terrifying and exciting experience. I am a homebody through and through, so moving 15 hours away from my family and friends was something I never thought I would do, but here I am. To say the first week was hard would be an understatement. It took a couple of days for me to adjust, and honestly, I’m still not fully adjusted. I have been on a roller coaster of ups and downs, and even at times contemplating if I made a mistake coming here, but I have grown to really like this place. I have already learned so much about myself just being here one week, so I’m excited to continue to watch myself grow and learn more about myself over the next nine weeks.
The first week was all about getting accustomed not just to my internship but to the city as well. The beginning of the week consisted of meeting the coaches and athletes that I will be working with during the summer, as well as the five other interns. It was very knowledge-heavy the first couple of days because of learning how the strength coaches operate and what things are done, as well as how the weight room is set up. A major responsibility that I have as an intern is making sure the weight room is set up with all the proper equipment needed for the lift each morning, as well as picking it all up and putting the weight room back to its normal state when the athletes are done using it. Other than that, it was pretty easy going (except for waking up at 5 am every day) because I spent the majority of the time observing lifts. As for my time outside of the internship, I’ve spent my time just walking around and exploring the area and campus. I have really enjoyed finding different places to eat or coffee shops to get some work done, or just random benches to sit at and take it all in. So far, my time here has been great, and I’m excited to dive more into my internship and see what else this city has to offer.
This entire internship is one big networking opportunity because the goal is to leave a never-lasting impression on the strength and conditioning coaches here at UPenn, so that down the road I can reach out to them for any job opportunities they may have or know of. Everyone in this career field knows people, so once you have an in with someone, you are able to meet lots of people who can provide opportunities. However, on Friday, UPenn sports performance hosted a clinic for strength and conditioning coaches or anyone in the field, so I had the opportunity to meet and talk to a bunch of coaches. This was a great opportunity and something that not many people this new to the game like me get to do, so I was very grateful. No matter what, every relationship I build during my time here at the University of Pennsylvania is important because you never know when our paths may cross again.
Overall, the first week in Philadelphia interning at UPenn has been nothing short of amazing, and I can’t wait to see what other opportunities I experience during the rest of my time here this summer.