As a high school senior, preparing for my first day of my internship at Momentum was not the problem. It was the environment, the new faces, and the time that scared me the most. I had my outfit planned out the night before to make sure that I was dressed for success because it was crucial. Since I struggle with time management, waking up the next morning, getting to 38th street, and grabbing a hot chocolate with a bagel before getting to work on time was a challenge. On top of all this, there were minor train delays. Despite all this, I made it to work on time to meet my new coworkers.

While First Workings, a nonprofit that helps underserved and underrepresented teens in New York City secure internships, helped me prepare for my first day, I was very nervous, scared and felt a little out of my comfort zone. One of the team members, Victoria, came and introduced herself with a big grin on her face. I instantly felt more at ease. She asked me how I was feeling and about my commute. After explaining to her the dilemma I felt that morning, her exact words to me were “It wouldn’t be a first day without train delays!’’ That’s when I knew my first day was off to a good start.

Victoria then introduced me to the Momentum team. They were all very welcoming. I was assigned to my desk and given my assignments. Since First Workings happens to be one Momentum’s clients, I was asked to help come up with new content to post on “First Workings” social media accounts. The second day I had an orientation on what Momentum does and my responsibilities for the rest of my two-week internship. It was all unexpected because usually I thought interns would be making copies or grabbing coffee, but this was far from that. I was doing the same work an employee was doing, whether it was writing pitches or completing client calendars. I even sent out my first company email with the help of another co-worker, Luke.

This experience at Momentum has been a learning experience for me. Growing up, the medical field has always been an interest of mine.. I knew businesses existed, but it didn’t feel like an option for me. In my head, it was just a 9-5, sitting at a desk and getting the day over with. Being at Momentum, I realized that although certain days are busier than others, it’s okay to share a laugh and converse about things like horoscopes.

It showed me the satisfaction that comes from working on a team. In the public relations agency environment, account teams work hard to gain recognition for their clients. It’s been an eye-opening experience for me to see the people behind the scenes who help underserved teens like myself build their social capital and show us how the business world works at such a young age. I’m really grateful for the experience to gain social capital at such a young age and how this experience impacts my future career.