As a rising senior in college, I have been heavily thinking about my plans after college: what kind of jobs I want to apply for, where I want to live, and how am I going to pay all my loans. I tend to overthink about the future and I get very anxious when I think about everything that I want to accomplish. Like many other college students, I feel so much pressure to find my career path early on; which is why it is important to have internship experience now, so I can find a job after college.

Throughout my entire junior year of college, I edited my resume and cover letters to send out for marketing internships this summer. I applied to over 30 internships in the Bay Area, and to my disappointment, I only received interest from two companies. It was heartbreaking for me because I worked so hard in perfecting my resume and sending out applications, and I felt that I could succeed in the jobs that I applied for. Unfortunately, I did not have any prior marketing experience besides my business classes. I was in this catch 22 situation where you want a job in marketing but can’t get one because you don’t have any experience, and no one will hire you because you don’t have any experience.

After a Blue Oaks service, I stopped to catch up with Pastor Matt and explained my job situation. A couple of days before that service, the company I interviewed for called me and told me they liked me, but they decided to go with a different candidate who had more experience. However, the interviewer really liked me and wanted me to consider an unpaid sales internship. I explained to Pastor Matt my disappointment in this because I really wanted to gain experience in marketing, which is my field of interest. Pastor Matt then said: “If you’re considering an unpaid internship, you should consider working for Blue Oaks! We can definitely find something for you in marketing.”

I was a little apprehensive when he first suggested this because I was not sure how I could learn marketing objectives from a church; but little did I know there is so much organization, collaboration, and skill behind the scenes of a church.  

So instead of my plan of a paid marketing internship for the summer, I worked as a marketing intern for Blue Oaks and as a part time sales associate at a retail store. Originally, I was still disappointed in myself that I did not find a paid marketing internship, but a couple of weeks in to my internship experience I realized something extremely important.

After the sermon of Proverbs, Pastor Matt suggested that I read one chapter of Proverbs each day since there’s a chapter for each day in a month. The verse that stood out to me was Proverbs 19:21

This verse spoke to me because although I had my heart set on getting a paid marketing internship for the summer, God had a plan for me to learn about marketing through Blue Oaks and to form relationships with the people in my church. The Blue Oaks staff is equipped with multiple people with corporate experience who have provided me with beneficial marketing experience and knowledge that I believe will help me in the future. I have also formed many valuable relationships with many of the Blue Oaks staff, and I feel very blessed with all the honest and eye-opening conversations I have had with them. Before this internship, I only had a few Christian influences in my life. Since working at Blue Oaks, I have had the blessing of getting to know such kind hearted, funny, and sassy people who believe in Jesus and actively seek out His help every day.

This summer is the first time that I truly believe that God has a plan for me and it has given me so much relief and comfort knowing that I do not have control over everything that happens in my life. I still feel anxious when I think about the future, but then I remind myself that I do not need to stress out about it because I can just follow what God has in store for me. I believe that everything happens for a reason and it is because God has a plan for all of us. Although we may not see the positive side right away, we can take comfort in knowing that Jesus knows what is best for us even though His plans may not always align with what we think is best for us.