To the parents and teens of today,

We spend a tremendous amount of time and energy preparing our youth for the future. We enroll them in advanced classes, encourage participation in clubs and sports, and help them build impressive academic résumés. Yet there is a critical, often overlooked component of their development that cannot be taught in a classroom or found in a textbook: the real-world internship.

It’s time we champion the immense value of these experiences, not as a line on a college application but as a fundamental rite of passage into the realities of work, character and self-reliance.

Let me backtrack a bit. We run an F&B business, and each summer, college interns flood to us to practice what they’ve learned in school. And while some are excellent, the majority of these young adults are relatively clueless, and we need to train them on everything from practical skills like how to cut food to critical thinking skills like how to respond to guest complaints. It never ceases to surprise me the situations the interns get themselves into.

An internship is the vital bridge between theory and practice. In school, a student learns about supply and demand in economics class. In an internship, they see it play out in a frantic retail holiday season or in a startup’s pricing strategy meeting. This application of knowledge transforms abstract concepts into tangible skills, cementing learning in a way that lectures never could.

But the lessons go far beyond the technical. Perhaps one of the most profound, if uncomfortable, takeaways is the understanding of workplace dynamics. The classroom is, by design, a supportive environment where teachers are incentivized to see you succeed. The real world operates differently. An internship teaches a young person that not every colleague will be a mentor and not every instruction is given out of pure kindness. They learn to navigate different personalities, to discern constructive criticism from mere negativity, and to understand that in a professional setting, people are ultimately driven by shared goals and outcomes not just goodwill.

Sixth Tone recently shared a story about how each summer, students by the thousands are scammed into fake factory jobs from all over the country. “Students are easy to scam out of their money. They’re new to the workforce, have no experience, and are easily tempted by high salaries,” one recruiter shared with Sixth Tone in their article.

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: unpaid internships.

When I was in high school, it took me a while to wrap my head around the idea that I’d be providing free labor to a company. This is a complex and often contentious issue. While the ethical debate around fair compensation is valid and important, it’s also worth considering the perspective of the employer, especially when dealing with students who have absolutely zero experience.

An intern with no prior work experience is not simply “free labor.” For an employer, they represent a significant investment of time and resources. Senior employees must pause their own work to train, supervise and correct. There is a tangible risk assumed by the company for mistakes made by someone who is, by definition, still learning. The effort poured into mentoring a green intern and the potential for errors often offset the cost of an actual salary. This arrangement, when structured correctly as a true learning experience, can be a fair exchange: The intern gains invaluable, career-launching experience, and the company invests in cultivating future talent.

The currency of an internship is not dollars and cents; it is experience, perspective and a transformed mindset. A teen who has navigated a real office, dealt with a difficult client, or met a tight deadline enters the world with a different operating system. They think differently. They are more adaptable, more pragmatic and more valuable as future hires than their peers who lack this exposure.

They aren’t just learning how to do a job; they are learning how to be in the world.

So, let’s encourage our teens to seek out these opportunities. Let’s urge local businesses to create them. Let’s shift the conversation from viewing internships as a luxury for the privileged or a source of cheap labor to recognizing them as an essential part of a modern education.

Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Sincerely,
An Advocate for Practical Experience

Images: Freepik, Sixth Tone, What’s Trending

Hi, I’m Charly. I’m 15 years old and currently a freshman in high school at the German Embassy School, and these last two weeks (May 21-31), I’ve been interning with the Beijinger.

When choosing an internship, I was 100 percent sure I wanted to do something in the field of journalism, since I’ve been interested in journalism for quite some time. As I am a frequent reader of the Beijinger, it immediately came to mind.  

I’ve always loved writing, and having lived in three different countries, I have an incredibly international background, which just made me want to see even more of the world. Considering this, journalism was definitely the right choice; not only can you learn loads about the world and different cultures, but you can also express yourself through your writing and get to hear other people’s stories.   

Going into this internship, I honestly wasn’t expecting much. I was just incredibly keen on learning loads about the world of journalism. I went into my internship open-minded and with a hunger for soaking up as much information as humanly possible. As an intern, I was honestly kind of expecting to just watch the magic happen from the sidelines.  

But I was wrong when it came to that part.

I was not treated like a typical intern or as if I was unqualified, which I definitely thought was. Instead, I was welcomed with open arms and got to participate in the publishing of many articles. Together with the Beijinger team, I got to publish my first ever article, which had me ecstatic. To say I was surprised about how seriously I was treated and how much I got to do would be an understatement.  

During my time at the Beijinger, my tasks exceeded my highest hopes. Not only did I get to write several articles, but I also led interviews, participated in a livestream with company co-founder Toni Ma, and learned how to use the Beijinger’s website.  

Writing is definitely one of my passions, so I was so lucky to be able to work with a team of such talented writers who supported me through the whole writing process. They taught me a lot about the editing process as well as just in general about journalism. If I had any questions concerning pretty much anything, they were always open-minded; I never felt like I should be afraid of asking questions. I immediately felt welcomed by everyone and I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to have met and worked with all these wonderful and talented people.  

My favorite article to write was definitely “Meet Five Special Dogs Looking for Adoption in Beijing | the Beijinger,” mainly because I got to hear all about Daphne Huatagalung’s inspiring story of how she rescues strays from the Beijing streets, but also because I felt like I was helping these five dogs find their forever homes. Journalism isn’t only pure reporting, but it’s telling other people’s stories and giving them an opportunity to be heard. That’s truly what I’m passionate about so I enjoyed writing this piece immensely.  

During the writing process of each article, I got to contact so many amazing people with their own unique backgrounds. Meeting and talking to all these people will definitely leave a lasting impact on me when it comes to being even more open-minded and taking other opinions, cultures, and interests into account.  

When I started my internship, I was really surprised how relaxed the atmosphere at the True Run Media office was. Instead of a bustling and stressful environment, like I expected it to be, everyone was calm, laid back, and extremely focused on their tasks. I was in awe of how friendly, open, and humorous everyone was in their communication with each other.  

During my livestream with Toni, I discussed my experience as a third culture kid. I was never really keen on public speaking or similar things, but I tried to go into this open-minded. And it was worth it, I enjoyed my livestream with Toni immensely. She made me feel incredibly at ease, and I loved sharing my experience with other people who were as keen as me to get to know others’ stories.  

Many people have told me that I shouldn’t get my hopes up and that most internships are boring, and that they only learned what they do not want to do in the future. For me it was quite the opposite. Instead of a boring and repetitive internship, I got an extremely fun and exciting internship, which only reinforced my dream to become a journalist.  

Internships are meant to give you an insight into work life and help you figure out what you do or do not want to do later on in life. This internship was definitely an enriching and fulfilling experience that taught me a lot. The skills I learned during my internship won’t only help me during my further education, but will also help later in life when I’m ready to fully dive into work life. An internship is definitely an amazing opportunity for anyone; no matter what you’re interested in or what your background is, an internship is enriching for absolutely everyone. If you do have the opportunity to participate in an internship, I highly encourage you to do so.   

Images: Charly Kutscher