After a few weeks in London and a better understanding of “venture capitalism” and “climate tech” (words that used to be mere jargon to me), I have a realistic understanding of my “personal and professional growth opportunities” via this program.
As a pre-law student, working in venture capital for a climate tech company certainly was not a preconceived goal of mine. Nevertheless, when the opportunity presented itself to spend a summer in London, I knew I could not ignore it. The internship was my chance to leave the United States for the first time and to diversify from my otherwise exclusively pre-law experiences by putting my economics major to the test. To complicate matters, while working in and exploring a different country, I also have to find time this summer to study for the LSAT. Needless to say, a common struggle for me this summer will be time management.
Working a full-time job, studying for an extremely important exam, and indulging my inner tourist is the definition of a “full plate.” It’s also an opportunity to experience the reality of trying “side hustling” after college; I see this summer as an introduction on how to cultivate my own goals in the future while managing a career and a healthy work-life balance.
Focusing on my internship itself, I can already see how my thought process regarding business and marketing is changing, and I expect this change to be a permanent point of growth for me. My first week in the United Kingdom was spent attending a “venture catalyst” event at Jesus College, Cambridge, where startup founders pitched their ideas and learned from experienced lawyers, engineers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to gain valuable insight regarding the potential future outcomes of their startups. Having the opportunity to sit in on these conversations, pitches, and internal staff evaluations (the contents of which were kept secret from the startup founders) gave me a newfound appreciation for the differences between idealism and realism in entrepreneurship, and I am excited to turn that general understanding into something more granular and nuanced as the program progresses.
P.S. The University of Cambridge is a university I have heard of since I was a kid, but I could never picture a single building of its thirty-one campuses (all in the same city!) until arriving in London. In case you also have not seen this beautiful university, here are some photos!
