A Virtual Internship in the Pandemic Year

When you submit a virtual internship application with CYA, it initially seems like a very vague process. They ask about your career interests and your CV. When I submitted my application in the Fall of 2020, it took some time before I heard back, but that's because they had tailored an internship to my specific career interests and things I was passionate about. What resulted was the most fulfilling virtual program I've ever participated in. I was matched with an anthropology professor and archaeology professor; the former helped me understand Greece better by sending me articles that we could discuss and by answering any questions I might have. The latter supervised the deliverables part of the internship: helping draw plans and illustrations of different archaeological sites from two different archaeology projects. This type of internship is very rare in archaeology for undergraduates, and it has been both a significant booster on my CV, but also an affirmation that I'm working towards a career path I find fulfilling. I even asked them for advice regarding careers in archaeology and both professors went out of their way to not only share their experiences but even reached out to their own colleagues to see what I should do. I feel like not only did I learn a lot and progress further in my career, but I earnestly looked forward to all of our meetings. In the year of Zoom, this was probably the only meeting I looked forward to, even if they were early. Because the internships are so specifically tailored to each individual's career interests, I would say this is an experience that's more than worth it, until we're able to travel again. I look forward to physically being at CYA but in the meantime I highly recommend people take advantage of their virtual program.