Starting this week, CALS Career Services is starting a weekly blog highlighting CALS students and their internships called Featured Bucky Interns (FBI). Our inaugural FBI will be an interview with Drew Winter. He is a Junior majoring in Genetics from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. He conducted a biological census survey of a few hectares of Peruvian Amazonian rain forest through Amazonia Expeditions during his internship.
Q: What things did you do to prepare for getting an internship?
A: I actually found this internship through a non-traditional way. My family and I traveled to Peru as tourists a year beforehand and while we were there, we visited a research lodge for a short time. After leaving Peru, I asked what kind of research opportunities they can offer at that lodge and before I knew it, I was on a flight down there the following summer.
Q: What did the process of finding an internship teach you about getting an actual job?
A: You never know where a great opportunity can be hiding so keep your eyes and ears open and don’t be afraid to ask.
Q: What level of student organizations and/or volunteering did you pursue to enhance your resume and help improve your experience?
A: I really just went down there by myself and a friend and last time I went, I volunteered to take census data within the rainforest. Presently, I have flights booked to travel there again this coming summer and will be volunteering at a clinic in the same area along with some continuation of the census data collection.
Q: How did these opportunities help you in achieving your career goals?
A: I am planning on applying to medical school within the next year so I am very excited about this coming trip and having the opportunity to work in an extremely rural clinic. It will not only help boost my resume for med school but will also give me all-too-valuable patient contact where I will have to overcome large cultural and lingual barriers.
Q: What did you do at your internship?
A: As alluded to above, I will be collecting species census data in a reserve along with volunteering at a local clinic.
Q: What was the most important thing you learned at your internship?
A: Being able to be flexible while working in many aspects including long hours and varying wake-up and bed times (for early morning and late night species counting as well as patients) all while in less-than-ideal conditions. I consider that to be more-or-less learning to be committed.
Q: Do you feel your internship experience was important to your career development and why?
A: Yes and most reasons have been listed and include: resume booster, commitment, experience of other cultures, working in a foreign country and gaining the experience of working in the field.
Q: Who do you feel was the person that helped you the most in your professional development and why?
A: My parents actually were simply because they always pushed me to do more activities, apply for more things, ask more questions, etc. For this particular experience, they originally pushed me to ask about any opportunities as well as helped me out with finding good deals on flights and preparations for weeks in the jungle.
