There’s this quiet panic that creeps up around March of freshman year or now for upper classmen. The sense that everyone has their summer figured out except you. Your LinkedIn feed suddenly fills with “excited to announce” posts, your friends are talking about onboarding calls, and you start questioning every choice you’ve made since orientation. At a school like Stevens, where ambition practically lives in the air, it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind if you don’t have an internship lined up before you’ve even finished your first year.
But here’s the truth no one says loudly enough: you’re not behind. You have time.
We’re placed under this tremendous pressure to constantly be achieving something, especially when we’re surrounded by peers who are driven, talented, and career-focused. It’s part of what makes Stevens so special — but also what makes it easy to lose perspective. The reality is, if you talk to students at most other universities, they’re not even thinking about internships their freshman year. For many, their first summer is about adjusting to college life, going home, saving money, or just taking a breather.
Getting an internship early can be great for exposure — you learn what you like (or don’t), you get used to professional settings, and you feel productive. But it can also be overwhelming. You’re still figuring out your major, building your resume, and learning what you actually want to do. Sometimes the “perfect” internship that everyone’s scrambling for isn’t even the right fit yet , and that’s okay.
There are so many other ways to make your summer valuable. You can take a class, work a local job, volunteer, join a summer research project, or even start a personal project that excites you. Those experiences count just as much, sometimes even more, than a first internship. Skills like communication, responsibility, and initiative show up everywhere, not just in a corporate setting.
It’s also important to remember that employers don’t expect first year undergraduates to have tons of experience. They know you’re still early in your academic journey. What matters more is how you use your time — whether that’s learning something new, reflecting on what you want to do, or even just resting so you can show up stronger sophomore year.
So if you didn’t land that summer internship, take a deep breath. It’s not the end of the world — in fact, it’s probably the beginning of something better. You’ll have plenty of summers to fill your resume. This one can be for you.
