My mentor was really helpful and cared about me, and I was actually able to work on things that would help the hospital.
What I wish was different
I wish I was able to experience the marketing floor at least one time when I was there.
Advice
Try to soak in everything that your mentor and other workers are telling you because they're in the shoes that you hopefully want to be in one day. So they definitely knows what it takes to get there.
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Adaptive Sports Intern
May - August 2019 • Chicago, IL
What I liked
I loved how active the internship was! We biked to a lot of our programs and assisted in a lot of the facilitation, which also required a lot of physical work. In addition, we balanced the active programming throughout the Chicagoland area with office work, so I feel really well-rounded leaving.
What I wish was different
There were a lot of interns and volunteers, so I felt as though the competition was high and there was a lot less individual attention from my supervisors at times.
Advice
The advice I would give would be to work hard and ask a lot of questions because this is incredible professional experience!
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Summer Research Intern
June - August 2019 • Chicago, IL
What I liked
Working with an incredibly talented, hard working team of engineers on cutting edge prosthetic technologies is incredibly eye opening. The combination of rehabilitation medicine with technological research on every floor of the hospital was truly exciting. The genuine people who work at SRALab are willing to help and excited to teach interns so it was a quality learning experience at the very least! Not to mention, Chicago is a great city!
What I wish was different
Advice
Don't be afraid to take advantage of the network you enter when you get access to a place like Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. The doctors and engineers and employees were more than willing to meet with me and talk and let me shadow them once I made the effort to reach out. But it's up to you, as an intern, to reach out to them while you are there.
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Research Intern
May - August 2018 • Chicago, IL
What I liked
The best part of my internship was the amount of personal growth and progress I made in a short period of time as well as the long-lasting professional connections and friends that I established. When I first started, I had no prior research experience and never worked in a lab before. My confidence in myself increased over the weeks while implementing different techniques and methods through hands on experience conducting research. I was able to apply my academic knowledge that I learned from my classes at Lake Forest College daily at my internship. During my time here, I also really enjoyed being given the opportunity to shadow a pediatrician. I was able to shadow Dr. Gaebler during her clinic hours both at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and Lurie’s Children Hospital. I met and interacted with many wonderful kids and their families. Shadowing another physician motivated me to pursue my passion of helping others and allowed me to confirm that I do indeed want to pursue medicine and possibly clinical research as my career.
What I wish was different
Advice
I believe this internship was a fantastic opportunity to learn and expand my abilities, and would be an invaluable experience for other Lake Forest College students. I feel like exposure to research and gaining firsthand experience in teamwork is very beneficial for undergraduate students exploring career fields, and increases the likelihood of those students getting jobs after graduation and going on to become successful in their future careers.
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Nurse Intern
May - August 2017 • Chicago, IL
What I liked
Amazing facility, great interdisciplinary teamwork. Learned a lot of time management skills and a lot about brain injury rehabilitation nursing.
What I wish was different
Would have liked to learn more/have more exposure to the RN role instead of as a tech. A RN preceptor, more assessment & clinical judgement-requiring situations, and overall exposure to more aspects of nursing would have strengthened the experience. Since this internship is for students entering their final year of school, the interns could have more responsibilities and learning opportunities if they were not staffed as techs.
Advice
Have an open mind, work with your team (you will learn a lot from them), and ask for help when you need it
