So after the great fun of the videos it was time to actually get to work, RRRRR rrrrrrrrr (sad trombone noise, obviously). So we took the group around and dropped them with their respective labs - so long as there was someone there. Although a few labs were ready and waiting, a few others were unprepared, or didn't tell us where to find them, or just plain weren't there. This was really frustrating for me, because it was a lousy first impression to make on fresh interns, and made the Center as a whole look pretty unorganized and just plain bad. The interns who didn't have anyone to meet with ended up going home, and it was only 2:45. And the interns didn't appreciate this much either - a few of them noted in their blogs that they were annoyed or disappointed. In all fairness, in the case of one lab, one person had to leave early while the other was stuck in a meeting; so that was totally understandable, and some of that lab's interns stuck around until they could meet. Though, there were two interns who stuck around for another reason... they had no lab to meet with anymore.
You know I don't hold back, so here's the basic truth: One lab asked for two interns, and at the end of last week decided they actually could not take them anymore. They were too busy with other projects to be as hands on as they would like, and they didn't want the two interns to suffer with a poor experience because of it. (To be fair, this lab typically does go above and beyond to provide an excellent summer for its interns, which has definitely made for great experiences in the past and is much appreciated by everyone; and it would indeed be a shame to only provide a portion of such an experience.) So basically, we had to see if we could figure out something else for these two interns to do all summer, with pretty much one day to figure it out.
Although we were able to come up with one opportunity over the weekend, I didn't feel satisfied that it would give these two interns what they wanted to get out of their summer. A lot of kids are just looking for a fun experience and some coin, but I got the impression that these two in particular were also looking for something to give them a head start on their future career; and I didn't feel certain that what we had in mind would do it for them. So, while the interns were all out on the Hunt, we were scrambling behind the scenes trying to find more research options. Surprisingly, there were a number of people eager to take on interns even at the eleventh hour, and they were downright excited at the prospect! It was a lot of work to get everything coordinated, but in the end we had three options to present to our two lost interns.
I was really really worried about how the two would react - Would they be really upset with us? Would they accuse us of a bait and switch? And, worst case scenario, would they end up wishing they had done something else for the summer? Luckily, none of these were the case. While the two interns looked a bit worried and uncomfortable at first, after some discussion (and strong assurances that this was not a reflection on them in any way) they each picked new projects that they were both very interested in. We told them they could sleep on it, but they were both confident about which new projects they wanted to do, and in fact seemed pretty excited to get started (or maybe that was just relief that they weren't fired or in trouble for some reason). Either way, they each got to meet with their new labs, who were likewise excited to get started with them. And we breathed a big (but still nervous) sigh of relief.
This was all super stressful, but I think it's all going to be okay. We are committed to doing everything we can to make sure ALL of our interns have a fun and meaningful summer, and doggone it we will make it happen!
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