Peyton Broskoff interned with the College of Humanities to help mentor her fellow humanities students with the adjustment to college life.
How did you get your internship?
It was the end of my freshman year and I was going through my emails when I saw something that said the College of Humanities was looking to take on some peer mentor interns for the upcoming year. At that moment I wasn’t really thinking about internships, so I deleted the email. Then a week later I got the exact same email. After some thought I decided to open the application. I entered my contact information, uploaded my resume and cover letter, and answered some general prompts. A few weeks later I heard back that they wanted to interview me. After the initial excitement wore off I started preparing by doing mock interviews with my roommate. This preparation seemed to pay off because I later found out that I landed the internship and they told me I would be starting training first thing in the fall.
Why did you choose this internship?
When I saw the opportunity to apply to be a peer mentor I thought that this opportunity sounded similar to being a peer tutor, something I did in high school, so I thought it would be a good fit for me. Also as a freshman myself at the time I had gone through an entire year at UA and had gained all this amazing knowledge that I wanted to have an opportunity to share. Becoming a peer mentor would give me an additional opportunity to connect with the College of Humanities in a deeper sense as well. Having the opportunity to interact with the advisors and get a behind-the-scenes look is something I didn’t want to pass up. Overall, the internship just sounded interesting to me, so I made the decision to apply.
What kind of work did you do throughout your internship experience?
The majority of this internship is focused on helping freshmen transition into the university, specifically within the College of Humanities (COH). So, I was a teacher’s assistant for the HUMS 101: College Success and Community Building, a class that freshmen students in COH take their first semester here. With this I get to help lesson plan, hold office hours, contribute to lectures, and tutor students. Outside of the classroom I assist with student outreach and humanities events. As a Senior Peer Mentor I was also able to have a voice for the peer mentor program itself. I enjoyed all of my main duties and any side projects that I got to create during my internship.
How did your Applied Humanities major coursework give you unique insight for the internship experience?
I found the most help in the sense that I could share personal experiences or stories that students could take and use as tips for the future. Having gone through the Applied Humanities classes that many of them will be going through, I can include tips and tricks that I have gained along the way. For example, when doing outreach a student asked about some future PAH classes they might take next semester. I was able to share which classes I have already taken and what she may expect out of those classes, which she said was very helpful for her decision making process. Another example was during a lecture in HUMS 101 about career development, I was able to share how I have personally used my elevator pitch in my search for internships from practicing it in the PAH 383: Pre-Internship course. That course provided skills and wisdom that are extremely valuable when being a peer mentor.
What did you find challenging about your internship?
Becoming a peer mentor means that you have to speak in front of a classroom full of students and present almost every week. This was by far the most challenging portion of my internship.
I have always struggled with public speaking throughout school. I have been in situations where I avoided it at all costs, but as I have gotten older I have realized how important this skill is and so I knew I had to work to improve it. I would get scared when I had to talk, but as cliché as it sounds, I really did get better with practice. Having to do it every week meant that the uncertainty of when it was going to happen was not there. The fear just started to fade away and by the end of the year I didn’t have any knots in my stomach before speaking events. My main takeaway here is that sometimes you have to push yourself during your internship experience even if it is scary. Practice really does help you get better and can even help you overcome some fears. Now I just have to work on transferring that comfort with public speaking to different settings outside of the classroom.
What is the impact of your internship experience?
I came into this internship knowing it was going to be a great chance to improve upon my communication skills, and it really has been. I feel much more confident in public speaking situations and even interpersonal conversations. I have also really gotten to hone my organizational skills. I have always been someone who likes to stay organized, but I absolutely loved applying it in this internship. The biggest impact though was not one that I had expected; during my time as a peer mentor I grew extremely close to not only my supervisors, but also my fellow peer mentors. Together we created an amazing community where peer mentors also get to share wisdom with each other. I am so grateful that I have been able to make these genuine connections that I hope to carry them through the rest of my college career and even after graduation.
What advice do you have for other students as they search for their internship?
The internship search can be a not so fun experience. You can feel like you are drowning in applications and interview prep and feel like you are going nowhere. I would say this feeling is pretty normal. I would want other students to know it is ok to get burnout from the internship search because other people have gone through the same thing. I would also say to not be scared to try anything outside of what you have envisioned. While it is nice to have a plan, you should not close yourself off to any additional opportunities that come about. It is good to keep in mind that there are people there to help you on your journey.