I first was involved in an internship my junior year. I heard about positions open in the Special Operations department at Fort Bragg and since much of the base was near my campus in Fayetteville, I applied and did a series of interviews. After a lengthy security clearance, I was hired at USASOC Public Affairs. I was assigned to post news footage relevant to Army Special Operations on the Public Affairs web database as well as answer phones and set up equipment.

At first, I was highly disciplined and could easily balance arriving at work and class on time but as the weeks went on, my classwork became more difficult and I started coming to class late. It was a nearly 30-minute drive from campus to work and back and my grades did suffer that semester due to a lack of balance.

My internship went on into the summer so I stayed at a house with some of friends. I also began drinking, which negatively affected my performance. My internship ended in March after a full year and I graduated in May.

I did learn about the day-to-day operations and inner workings of the military but I regret some of the decisions I made, like failing to plan properly. I give this advice to any student seeking an internship: Make sure you don’t overwork yourself and neglect academics and don’t slack off because it will reflect poorly on your future career.

Thomas Lee recently graduated from Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina with a BA in political science and journalism. His father is an ordained Church of God minister and his mother is a private school teacher; he also has two younger sisters. Thomas’ interests include politics, law, debate, global issues and writing fiction and he believes in a personal relationship to Jesus Christ and a strong commitment to biblical morality and ethics. He currently resides in Washington, North Carolina and will be attending law school in the near future.

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