Health Sciences Library welcomes Intern for Summer 2021

David B. Ganderson, Marketing & Communications Strategist Intern, Health Sciences Library

This post was written by David B. Ganderson, and edited by Kimberley R. Barker

Greetings to all readers!

My name is David Ganderson and I am a Marketing & Communications Strategist Intern at the Library. I was accepted for this internship after the Internship Placement Program (IPP), matched me with the position. As my internship takes place during the Summer semester, rather than the school year, I look forward to being able to devote my undivided attention to this position rather than being distracted by five other courses. I am a rising 4th Year at the University of Virginia, and I am majoring in English. Due to the COVID pandemic, I am working virtually for the Library. This is my first internship, and I cannot overemphasize how excited I am about working here!

I am hoping that this internship will (among other things) help me determine what I might want to do after university. For, to be perfectly honest, as of now I am clueless about what my career prospects might be. My supervisor, Kimberley Barker, has been incredibly generous in providing me with many paths I can take while doing this internship. I imagine I may dabble in a bit of every path provided to me at first, but after a while I hope to find a project or path that really interests me, and run with it. 

            Although my full path in this internship has not yet been paved, I do have a few things that I already am hoping to learn from this position. For example, I hope to learn strategies and techniques that will make my writing the most efficient at marketing for various groups. I also hope I can become a better researcher; i.e. learn techniques that help me know how to spot a good article from a bad one and to best organize the information I find so that it makes sense to me later, etc.

            Along with my desire to learn, I’m bringing my strong work ethic and genuine interest in marketing and communications to the table. I’m also bringing my experience as an English major- all of my experience so far in writing and rhetoric. I also possess the fundamental desire to make a difference to the Health Sciences Library, no matter how small. Perhaps the following anecdote can explain why: when I was searching for internships, this one immediately caught my eye because I think that libraries are absolutely essential to the modern world. Information is one of the most valuable resources we have and making this information available to all is one of the most valuable actions one can take. And, while all information is valuable, the opportunity to work at a library that provides access to information that can literally save lives, that to me is an exceptional honor.
 

Do you have any questions for David? You can reach out to him via LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-ganderson-614228203/)