Internship Spotlight: Meet Zachary Gaubert
This week our Internship Spotlight is focused on Zachary Gaubert, a Finance and Marketing double major from Atlanta, Georgia. Zachary is a senior who will be graduating this December. For the past year, he has been interning at the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Workforce Center. Zachary shared some insight with us about his internship and how it has helped him to advance his career goals:
What’s one thing that helped you to succeed in this role?
I was extremely fortunate to have been involved with multiple student organizations throughout my time at UK, such as Student Government, Student Activities Board,
DanceBlue, Pi Kappa Alpha, and Gatton Ambassadors. Each of these organizations gave me a glimpse of various aspects of professional behavior as well as how to manage events and relationships, etc. They all taught me how to be creative and think outside the box when the solution is not always clear. Most importantly however, I think my success at UK all spawns back to where it started, which is in the Business Enterprise Living Learning Program. Shonta Phelps immediately guided me as well as countless other freshmen on how to get involved, how to navigate college, and how to adjust to “adult life”. Without her guidance and advice I certainly would not be anywhere close to where I am today.
What is one piece of advice you would give to other students searching for an internship?
Apply early and apply often. You will probably apply for countless internships and not hear back. That does not mean to give up though. Just keep on searching and applying. The other half of that though, is treating every interaction as a networking opportunity. Oftentimes, if you explain what you are looking for to the people around you, they might know someone who knows someone that could really help you out.
What was your favorite part of the job?
I would definitely say that the opportunities I was given to meet so many different people and the flexibility to help create such an impactful program. I have done several internships and this by far was the one that I could see the direct impact of my work. It is not often you get to say that in a job but this one I certainly did.
How do you think this position has set you up for future success in your career?
To be frank, this internship led me to a full time job offer with the Chamber of Commerce. What started as a 3 month opportunity expanded into a year which has now expanded into a career. I would tell anyone who is looking for jobs to “just say yes”. What I mean in saying that, is there might be times you are asked to do something that you don’t want to do or maybe even that would slightly push you out of your comfort zone. If you are ok with a little bit of vulnerability, you often grow as a person. Sure it might be scary to give that first presentation or give that idea you had, but if you do, it just might lead to your next great opportunity!
