Summer Internship – from a TP’s perpective

After 10 months living in idyllic Hanover and experiencing all things new to us (new england! snow! tiny community!), the end of May saw 1st-year-Tuckies scattered around the world for their summer internships. It was a whirlwind end of the year, cramming in as many gatherings as possible before the 2nd-year students/families left us and enjoying the lazy days of the warm (finally) Hanover weather. Dorms were packed, storage units were rented, cars placed into trusting hands, and teary eyed students boarded buses, trains, and planes.

Over Memorial Day weekend, before our 2nd-year friends had even graduated, my husband/student and I moved our dog and a couple of suitcases of summer clothing down to our subleased apartment in Providence, Rhode Island. It’s 5 miles from his office, 2 blocks outside of the Brown University campus, within a stone’s throw of a dozen-plus restaurants. We have plenty of late night options for dining and we’re so close to several major airports again! Back in “civilization” and all the conveniences of living in and close to many large cities, it’s been amazing to be back in the throes of the “real world”. And now, all of a sudden, we only have 3 more weeks left of our summer in Rhode Island.

I had preplanned to join my husband during the summer, looking for employment in Hanover exclusive to the student calendar. Because he is a career switcher at this point (exploring industries other than his previous experience), we wanted to keep our geographical options open during the recruitment process. This meant that he could look for internships in a variety of areas and, if granted an offer, we could end up in that area post-Tuck, long-term. This also meant that, for my peace of mind, I would have plenty of time to explore said “new area”. Securing employment exclusive to the school year allowed me this opportunity. The added benefit of being within driving distance of Cape Cod, Newport and Martha’s Vineyard (+ferry), allows for fun and easily accessible weekend getaways! As a reminder, these places are all new to us so we’re hard-core exploring.

There are some partners who have traditional full-time jobs back in the Upper Valley and they’re lucky enough to be soaking up the New Hampshire/Vermont summer. While it’s definitely more quiet at Tuck itself, there’s plenty to do in the area during the summer months so don’t fret if that will be your scenario. On that note, some students choose to work with Tuck affiliated programs over the summer so you’ll have plenty of people to spend time with.

There are also partners who secure their own internships; partners who work from home over the summer, allowing them to travel to be with their student; partners who take the opportunity to visit families and friends, knowing that their student will have long/weekend internship hours. While my student has had some longer weeks, he’s not in finance so I see him regularly. Many different scenarios, depending on the time commitment of internship, place in partner’s career, etc.

Although I have embraced some of the conveniences of living in a more densely populated area during our summer, I can’t help but pine for our Hanover life (even knowing that we’re in the home stretch)! We miss our Tuck family, the long + leafy trails of the Upper Valley, canoeing in the river, the new gelato place, and letting our dog run free in the Sachem fields. I miss my book club ladies, hockey (?!), social gatherings in Cohen Hall. Keeping in touch with folks, I noticed the first few weeks were all about embracing “normal” culture, but the last few have served as more of a countdown for our return. It seems like I’m not the only one eagerly anticipating the move back to our town of 10,000.

And yes….as a city dweller from one of the most populated states in the US, this eager anticipation is a huge, but welcome and pleasant surprise. See you back at Tuck really soon!