The Tanner Conference opened my eyes to so many new career opportunities. Here are some of the best ways my peers spent their summers.
7. MAGA-zine making: Launching WIFF (pioneered by Wellesley Intellectuals For Fascism (WIFF)
As creative director for the new Wellesley Intellectuals For Fascism (WIFF) initiative, I spent my summer rummaging through the storage lockers containing all of the books that were removed from Clapp for renovations. Before picking out which ones we should burn, I went through and found a bunch of pages with super cute illustrations for my zine-making workshop next week! Hope to see you there!
6. JD Vance’s Makeup Artist
As a Theatre Studies major & poli sci minor, getting to intern with such a high-profile celebrity right off the bat was an amazing opportunity. Through this truly immersive experience, I was able to master the art of the no-makeup-makeup-look. At first, he was resistant to anything besides his signature smoldering “guyliner,” but by the end, we worked our way up to a full twelve-step glam beat.
He even let me try out my stage prosthetic work-—with just a little strategic brown eyeshadow and some silicon, I was able to transform his hands into that of a working man. I couldn’t have done this without the help of Career Services, who gave me such great advice on how to cater my resume to the applications like: ‘Ctrl + F’ for “Wellesley College,” then ‘Ctrl + Shift + V “The Ohio State University.”
5. Double Double Agent: My immersive summer going undercover as an undercover documentary crew
My passion for investigative journalism hit a wall after exploring traditional avenues like print media and TikTok man-on-the-street style, so I turned to documentaries.
My angle: I’d be posing as a college student looking to gain some experience through an internship with an undercover documentary crew. Career Ed helped me come up with an alias, falsify a transcript and look over “my” cover letter. While my subjects/ coworkers worked tirelessly, secretly capturing film of some cult they’d been infiltrating, I did some investigating of my own: What is the true lived experience of a documentarian? Is this a job I could envision for myself? What is the starting salary? Ultimately, I uncovered that undercover work isn’t for me, since apparently posting regular updates to LinkedIn is frowned upon.
4. Kamala HQ (TikTok commenter)
This summer, while my fellow sibs took on Wellesley in Washington, I fulfilled my civic duties by actively commenting on every Kamala Coconut Tree™ edit. I reposted every “brat” remix with great fervor and got a $5,000 stipend from Career Ed! #SignatureInternship
3. Doing Drugs (full time)
I got to pursue my passion!
2. Trump’s Neurologist
I’m going to be honest: I was a little late to the whole finding an internship thing; furthermore, there weren’t many opportunities for Creative Writing majors like myself. That being said, I really enjoyed how immersive this internship was. I’d recommend this position to any students looking for a viable yet undemanding side gig.
1. Amplifying Queer Voices
As an ally working with Wellesley’s LGBTQ Center I realized the best thing I can do (other than listening) is just putting in the work to make sure the contributions of gay people are heard. That’s why I spent my summer repeating everything my queer sibs said, only louder. Being a human megaphone isn’t always easy, but it sure feels good for the soul!!
Tanners of notable mention:
Awards for…
- Most inspiring:
- Drop shipping via TikTok shop
- Most worthwhile:
- Tanning
- Greatest community impact:
- Timothee Chalamet Look Alike Contest pub chair
- Most creative:
- Blake Lively PR Advisor
- Most lucrative:
- Campaigning for Jill Stein
- Most exhausting:
- Meta intern (scrolled on IG all summer
