Ryan Dixon has a lot of hobbies and wants to spend the rest of his life learning and improving. When he was finishing up college, he did not know what he wanted to do for his career but went on to make a decision after participating in the CDE Summer Internship Clinic. “There were a lot of challenges and it was a really good learning discovery period trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Being exposed to a lot of different things in a startup was really beneficial. The internship showed me that digital marking is very fluid and a lot of things come up.”

Ryan is currently working on the internal marketing team for a start-up called Tespo, a company that focuses on the cutting edge technology of vitamin dispensing systems. The first class he took with Bud Gibson showed Ryan what he wanted to do professionally, but the internship is really what secured his decision. “You aren’t a basic “go get coffee” intern. You’re there to help solve some of the problems that come up. There’s a lot more flexibility to learn and problem solve.” During his internship, Ryan worked with Messageblocks, an event planning, and coordination software development company.

“Challenging yourself on a day-to-day basis will lead to you being more successful.”

Ryan claimed that the internship shattered his expectations of what a career could be. “After seeing my dad’s career path where you are in a corporate job for 20 years, the internship showed me you can do a lot more and continue to progress.” Ryan wants to constantly be growing and learning. “There’s a lot of things that you can do. You can be very creative or very analytical or a combination of the two. You can always learn and grow.”

Ryan’s biggest advice for future interns is “don’t be afraid to try. Take the initiative and don’t wait around for others to solve issues. You will come across failures and everything won’t always go according to plan but being able to accept that and move and pivot from that plan is good. By failing, I was able to figure out the best areas for improvement.“

If you’re looking to expand your experiences, the CDE Summer Internship Clinic can be a great way to discover your passions and talents. Don’t miss your chance to meet amazing people, build your resume, and get paid!  Check out our website for more information and to keep up with all of our events.