Chicago Center for Urban Life & Culture

Chicago Summer Internships: More Than Just a Job

Chicago summer internships give you extremely valuable professional skills that can assist you in your search for a job and for the career that will satisfy you. However, being in Chicago teaches you a lot more than just professional skills. Living in one of the country’s urban centers can teach you life lessons and skills that you can’t learn any other way.

Navigating Chicago

If you have never lived in a urban setting, an internship in Chicago can be an eye-opening experience since you’ll be living in the city. First of all, you will have to learn to get around! In our Chicago internship programs, we allow you to get oriented before you start your internship and seminars.

One of the first things you learn is how to get around. The famous “El” train, buses and even trolleys can help you get around in the Windy City, and we’ll help you get accustomed to riding public transportation. Before you know it, it will feel like second nature. Bus and train routes become more than just lines on a map as you get to know the landmarks and attractions of the city.

Since you’ll have to get to your internship on time, and there will be tons of places across the city that you’ll want to visit, using public transit in Chicago is one of the integral parts of your Chicago Center internship experience.

Living with Roommates and Maintaining an Apartment in Chicago

As a college student, you may have never lived in an apartment that you were responsible for maintaining, although you probably have lived with a roommate. In the Chicago Center internship experience, you’ll live with multiple roommates in an apartment outfitted with all the necessities including a kitchen.

You will work with your roommates to cook, clean and keep a schedule. Living with roommates is always a learning experience, and some of the most memorable events of your Chicago internship program can come from the time you spend in your apartment, discussing your day with your new roommates.

Summer in Chicago!

Summer internships in Chicago gives you 8 weeks in the city during its most exciting season. From music festivals like Lollapalooza to baseball games at either U.S. Cellular Field or Wrigley Field to water sports on the lake, the summer in Chicago is more famous to its inhabitants than its snowy winter. If you get a summer internship through the Chicago Center, you’ll have access to the exciting happenings of the city in the summer.

Although many Chicago summer events are primarily about having a good time, there is a lot to be learned and absorbed through participating. You can learn about the city’s architecture and parks simply through experiencing them during events like the Chicago Air & Water Show, the largest spectator event in the United States and the longest ongoing show of its kind in North America. Many of the famous Chicago museums have free summer hours, too, allowing you to learn in first person from some of the most exciting attractions in the city.

The Chicago Center experience teaches you in many ways– your Chicago summer internship lets you learn about your career and working life, your seminars teach you about your field of study and help you explore Chicago, and city living teaches you practical life skills and lets you learn from experiencing the city itself. The combination is a learning experience like no other!