Nolan Miles, Spring 2017 Media Coordinator Intern
Coming to Harlaxton College as a student is a rare and
wonderful opportunity. Coming to Harlaxton twice is unheard of. However, for
the current Harlaxton College Student Development Office interns, it’s a
reality. Three former students, myself included, dreamed of the opportunity to
step foot and immerse themselves yet again in the world that is Harlaxton.
Weekend trips to Paris and Barcelona, living life in a grand Manor, and enjoying
the English culture are experiences that many would say are irresistible. And
while us interns soak up the little time we have left at the Manor, we quickly
realized that being a student and being an intern are very different
experiences.
“It’s so different in so many ways,” said Meg Melbourne,
current student activities intern. “After arriving it took me awhile to
mentally let go of my semester as a student — to let go of the expectation of
seeing my friends around the Manor, but, it’s helped me embrace this semester
in an entirely new and positive way.”
One of the biggest things that we have learned serving as
the Spring 2017 interns is that we are part of a core team that helps shape the
Harlaxton experience for the current students. It’s both a terrifying and
thrilling thing — To aid in the development of what will be one of the best
semesters of the student’s lives.
“There wasn’t a moment as a Harlaxton student that I didn’t
remember the interns being involved,” said Ashley Manka, student activities
intern. “I loved the idea of getting to enrich the experience of future
Harlaxton students. There was something alluring about the idea of never having
a single day be like the day before — It was blatantly obvious that this
internship required not only flexibility, but demanded variability.”
Don’t be fooled by our enthusiasm, however. Living in a
beautiful Manor in the English countryside is no walk in the park. To be
honest, it’s a time-consuming and stressful job. Thirty-five-hour work weeks
don’t exist — It’s more like 60 hours a week. We live where we work, so we’re
never “out of the office.” With only a four-person student development team, we
all have to handle emergencies and responsibilities that we are unfamiliar
with. We live life without any expectation of what tomorrow looks like.
“It can be hard having ‘no’ days off,” said Meg. “We have
some, but we’re always with students and coworkers for evening and weekend
events. Sometimes you just want to sleep in on a Friday or take time to go into
town alone on the weekends”
Despite the uncertainty of our job, the constant change in
plans and randomly assigned tasks, none of us would change the experience we’ve
had serving as the Harlaxton Spring 2017 interns. We have created bonds with
the students, the employees and the building itself. We have invested the past
six months of our life to a place that once gave us a once-in-a-lifetime
experience. Yet, here we are having another one.
“Something I believe to be true of any place is, ‘the people
make the place,’” said Ashley. “From day one I have met nothing but the nicest
and most genuinely caring individuals at Harlaxton. I couldn’t be more
appreciative of the hard work and continued kindness the staff have shown me
and many others.”
So the question remains: Which Harlaxton experience was
better? When we were students or while we are interns? For Meg and Ashley, they
both say it’s hard to tell because they are very different experiences. And I
would have to agree. However, as a student I didn’t know what to expect coming
to Harlaxton. As an intern coming back I was prepared for another brief,
life-changing experience. I was fully aware to soak up every moment with the
students, every task of my job and every nook and cranny of the Manor. So as
our time at Harlaxton comes to a final close, fully knowing we will never live
here again, I am grateful for having taken advantage of my Harlaxton 2.0
experience by absorbing every second of my time in our “forever home.”
