By Morgan Polizzi
As a kid growing up, the Indianapolis 500 became my favorite tradition. My dad would take me to practices, qualifications, or the race every year. The month of May was never complete without a visit to the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), where I would watch my favorite drivers with the biggest smile on my face. I love the Indianapolis 500 so much that my friends and I would ride our bikes around the neighborhood and pretend we were racing in the Indy 500. The winner of this bike race would, of course, be awarded with a glass of milk. As a Hoosier and life-long racing fan, the Indianapolis 500 has become a part of who I am today.
Ever since I was a young girl riding my bike around my neighborhood pretending to race in the Indianapolis 500, I have dreamed of working at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In May 2015, my dream came true as I received an event-staff position of working in the Credentials Department at IMS for the month of May. It was truly a dream come true to be able to work at my favorite place in the world, and I knew I wanted to experience the thrill of working there again for the iconic 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.
In November of 2015, my manager from the previous year reached out to me about a seven-month internship opportunity in the Credentials Department at IMS. I applied for the internship with high hopes of my dream coming true of being a part of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. I heard back in December that I had been offered the position, and started my journey at IMS in February 2016.
My internship as the Credentials Specialist at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was an opportunity and journey that I will never forget. I learned a lot about myself, what it’s like to collaborate with coworkers, and what it takes to put together an event in which we call “the greatest spectacle in racing.” This journey was full of ups and downs, and I was fortunate enough to experience this journey alongside a member of Ball State’s PRSSA-affiliated student-run firm, Cardinal Communications, Clare Leonard, who is an Account Director.
One of the main things I learned from having an internship is that it is meant to be a learning experience. Of course, still act as if this is a real job because it is one. Dress professionally, drink a cup of coffee on the way to work, and show up on time, ready for a long day of hard work. Through my experiences of interning at IMS, I have compiled some tips of what to expect and take away from having an internship that I hope will help potential interns applying for any kind of internship.
Always shoot for the moon. Never sell yourself short when seeing internship postings. Don’t ever think, “Oh, there’s no way I would ever get that.” Always apply and the worst that will happen is you won’t get the internship. But you will never know unless you try! I was afraid to apply for the internship at IMS because the interns from the previous year were all upperclassmen or graduates. I thought it was impossible to get this internship as a sophomore in college, but I applied and ended up getting the internship. So, always shoot for the moon and don’t miss out on amazing opportunities just because you think you aren’t qualified.
Take the time to learn general office skills and information about the company. You’d be surprised to hear that some of the biggest challenges I faced at my internship were how to use a bypass tray, copy machine, laminator, and paper cuter or how to transfer a call. These are extremely basic skills, but do we learn them in school? Nope. Luckily, I was able to learn these things in the beginning of my internship. But it was always embarrassing asking someone for help with these easy tasks. I am happy now that I learned basic tasks like this from my internship so I don’t show up for my first day at my real job not knowing how to do simple things like this. Take the time to explore the world of general office skills at our very own Bracken Library to prepare for these skills when you have an internship! Also, take the time to learn information about the company you are working for. Luckily, I was able to have small talk with customers about racing since I happen to be a race fan. But coming into this internship without any knowledge of IMS would’ve been hard. Take the time to learn about the history of the company you work for, the names of employees in other departments, what other departments do, and learn your way around the company. The more you know, the more helpful you will be.
Expect to do grunt work. When I came back to school after the summer I feel like a lot of what I heard from people who had internships was, “Ugh, all I did was grunt work this summer at my internship.” Grunt work may not be the ideal glamorous work that you want to do at an internship, but always expect to do it and never complain about doing it. One of the most valuable things my boss told me this summer is that even the highest positions in a company have to do grunt work because grunt work ALWAYS needs to get done. So, never complain and embrace grunt work with open arms!
Be open to feedback and criticism. Remember that this is an internship and therefore it is a learning experience. Don’t be afraid to sit down and talk with your boss periodically throughout your internship about how you are doing and what you could improve on. It will not only impress your boss that you are taking initiative to improve your work, but it will also help you in the long run with learning what you need to improve on and overall help your internship experience. Receiving feedback and criticism may not always be what you want to hear, but always take it in a positive way to learn more and improve yourself.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Internships exist for a reason; they exist so we make more mistakes now and less mistakes in a real job. This is a learning experience and you will most likely make a mistake at some point. Always come clean to your boss and admit if you did make a mistake and then find a way to fix the problem. I once made a mistake at my internship but I ended up fixing the problem. After apologizing to my boss several times, she said that all that mattered is that I ended up fixing the problem. Don’t beat yourself up when you make a mistake, just fix the problem, learn from it, and move on!
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