This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UVA chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
Zach Blackburn has earned his spot as this week’s Campus Cutie for his incredible work this summer both as an intern and a curious adventurer.
What did you do this summer?
This summer I interned with the Department of State in the Political/Economic Section in Riga, Latvia for two months and then took a one month language program in Lyon, France. For the internship I was working on several projects on my own, including higher education reform in Latvia and changes to the child welfare system. In addition, I served as the Ambassador’s executive assistant, helped work diplomatic events after hours, and wrote updates on daily developments in Latvia. However, the most fun part of my summer was probably my month in Lyon. Since we only had class for 4-5 hours a day and no homework, I was able to get to know the city and make a lot of friends. One of the favorite parts of my program there was the diversity of the other students, just my class had someone from every continent except Antarctica. Also, before I left for Europe, I traveled to Aruba with some of my friends from UVA, spending a week at the beach, and I traveled to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon with my family and a group of family friends, hiking down to the bottom of the canyon and camping there.
What initially motivated you to do it?
I decided to do the State Department internship because of my internship in international affairs and economics. The internship let me use skills that I have developed from each of my majors and served as a perfect segway for starting Batten’s Accelerated Master of Public Policy this fall. For the language program, I decided to study French this summer as I don’t have any more time in schedule for languages as I am starting Batten and finishing my two majors this year.
What did you learn?
I think the biggest thing I learned from my internship was the career knowledge that will help me tailor my studies over the next couple of years and really develop the skills that I will need for my future career, whatever it is. But in terms of specific skills, I was able to improve my writing with the multiple reviewer process that the State Department uses and in addition I developed my professional networking skills with practice from lots of formal diplomatic events. In France, the most important lesson I learned is that there is no rush to get to a certain job or place in life and that often taking a longer path makes for a more exciting and fulfilling life. From talking with my friends in the program, I saw how valuable gap years, sabbatical years, and a better work life balance can be for making life truly enjoyable.
How will you take what you’ve learned this summer and apply it to your life at UVa?
This year at school should be a different after the summer I think. For one, I have a better sense of what I want to do after school and as such can take classes that prepare me directly for that. But perhaps more importantly, I think this summer taught me that I am prepared for life after school and that has made me feel more relaxed about my classes and school in general. Of course I am thrilled to be back at school, but at the same time I am ready for life after school too.
