Today is the last day of my summer internship. My work is done – all the i’s are dotted and all the t’s are crossed, and my desk shows little sign that I have used it for the past 11 weeks. I have always hated endings. That isn’t to say that it doesn’t feel great to have finally stopped revising my PowerPoint deck and to have presented my work to the project leaders – the sense of completion and accomplishment is very real and gratifying. But it’s hard to say goodbye, to the project and the people. I have spent so much time with both this summer that they’ve become a part of my story and I a part of theirs, and it’s surreal to know that I won’t have a voice during the next phases of OPENPediatrics or at the next department happy hour.
Endings have gotten easier as I have gotten older, as I’ve figured out how to keep in touch and how to let go, but they are still something I dislike. To make today palatable, I am focusing on the positives: I have made a meaningful contribution to an ambitious and righteous project, I have deepened my connection to the Boston healthcare scene, I have made good and true friends, and I have applied skills learned at HBS to the real world. All in all, I’d have to say I couldn’t have asked for much more from a summer vacation.
- Julie Whorton, MBA 2014
