Anshika Saxena
Majors: Political Science, Philosophy, History
Minor: Human Rights Studies
Philanthropy Intern at Indiana Biosciences Research Institute
How did you learn about this internship opportunity?
What is a piece of advice you would give someone in your major looking for an internship?
Networking has more value than blindly applying to every opportunity you see.
What key responsibilities or projects have you taken on during your internship?
Most of my summer was spent on donor prospect research: identifying individuals and organizations whose giving history, capacity, and interests align with the institute's work, then building the case for why they might invest in it. I wrote over fifty pages of in-depth research and presented my findings to the team. I also completed a capstone project alongside communications intern.
How has your internship helped build your skills and clarify your career goals? How did being a Liberal Arts student at Purdue apply to your internship?
The role sharpened my writing and research, and gave me room to work on presenting and public speaking. As an aspiring law student, these are all skills that will take me far in my future career. In the Liberal Arts college, the majority of my classes focus on reading, writing, and research, which are also the biggest skills that I will need as a future lawyer, and they were also skills that helped me in my internship.
In what ways has the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University supported your internship journey? How has your participation in our Job-Ready program specifically aided your professional development?
The CLA department has given me the skills and the tools that I needed in order to be successful at my internship. The networking opportunities that the school provided helped me have the confidence to put myself out there and meet so many people over the summer. Overall, I was able to significantly expand my network because of the skills I learned being a CLA student.
Could you highlight a standout aspect of your experience in the Job-Ready program that you find particularly noteworthy?
The kindness of everyone who helped facilitate the Job-Ready program has been why the experience was so amazing. I am grateful for the kindness that everyone showed me.