#Indegetern is our new campaign to highlight stories and reflections of Native students who have interned in businesses, organizations, agencies, and tribal communities across the country.
Name: Carrie Dada
Name of Internship: Public Education Internship
Tribe: Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
School attended during internship: San Diego State University
Year in school you completed your internship: 1st Year Graduate Student
In-Person or Remote: Remote- Redding, California
Where you did your internship: American Indian College Fund
Duration of the internship: Three Months
1. What did you do at your internship?
As a Public Education Intern, I was able to work on various multimedia projects such as creating templates for the website, editing in Photoshop, creating an animation and a short video, different tasks that I was interested in that could be completed from home.
2. What did you learn?
I learned a lot about other Tribal Colleges outside of IAIA, where I had received my undergraduate degree. I also learned how much the College Fund does for tribal students; from the different programs available to the amount of effort everyone puts in to distribute scholarships to native students.
3. What was the most challenging or scariest thing you encountered during your internship?
Honestly, I think the most challenging aspect was the time zone difference. Sometimes it got confusing but, I didn’t find anything to be scary or stressful at all!
4. What was the most rewarding thing you encountered during your internship?
Being able to network and connect with amazing people! I loved how welcoming and helpful every person was to me, it felt like everyone was a family even virtually. I think the entire internship was a very valuable experience and helped me to earn money over the summer flexibly while working in areas that relate directly to my career.
5. What information or advice would you share with others wanting to participate in an internship?
I would just say, don’t be nervous and go for it. It’s completely worthwhile. It is so much fun and you will walk away feeling successful, like you have created important and amazing things during your internship. Don’t be afraid to share any ideas you have, everyone there is very open and accepting and will encourage you every step of the way.
6. Where you work now and/or what are our future career aspirations?
I currently am a Production Assistant for the Communications department on my school campus and can film as well as take photos every day. My career aspirations would just be to have a career in the film industry preferably in the camera department working as a Director of Photography or a closely related position in media.
Link to information about your internship:
