Internships... how important are they??

As a Senior that will be graduating in the upcoming Spring many questions and concerns face me upon getting my diploma in the Spring. The main concern that faces and haunts me is one most recent or upcoming graduates have is well, getting a job in the real world. With so many concerns surrounding the job rate upon graduation and many of my teachers talking about the importance of getting a internship, it leads my questioning the true importance of getting a internship during your college years.

Working in sports has been a dream of my ever since I was a little kid, and now with my graduation coming sooner than I could ever thought, I think I have made the right decisions and steps to make my dream a reality. Currently I am in my third internship, and as you can expect they have all been in the Sports Field, two as a game day operations intern with the Worcester Tornadoes and the Worcester Sharks, and now as a Public Relations intern with the Worcester Sharks. In my internships I have touched many areas of the organizations and learning stuff I could never even experience in my Communication classes at Framingham. I have also met many people that have helped expand my social networking connections throughout the baseball and hockey industry which will hopefully help me land a job next year in the competitive sports world. All of this wouldn't be possible if I never attempted and got a internship, luckily I have had three to help me prepare to what to expect while working for a sports team.

With having three internships now on my resume and always reading about the importance of getting one, I feel a lot more prepared for the real world and also think I am more qualified than the average under graduate student coming out college. My internship boss has also gave me reassurance of how important internships are as he told me " No one has ever asked me where I went to college, but rather where I worked and interned." This gives me the confidence and shows my the importance of how much a internship matters in today's job world.