Summer Intern Update: Riverside Yacht Club

Tarass Thevenaz

Financial Markets & Economic Analysis, College of Business, Policy, and Analytics

Riverside Yacht Club - ProShop Manager Intern

My name is Tarass Thevenaz, I am 21 years old and from Switzerland. This year I decided to stay in the US and find an opportunity to see what the real world look like and make myself a more experienced student.

My internship started two months ago today and it feels like it was just yesterday. The day at Riverside Yacht Club starts at 7:30am where I have to be at my desk. I start by checking if any phone calls were made or if anyone left a voice note. Then I check the emails and turn on the lights, making sure that everything looks nice and neat. As a student, it was really hard to make a transition to this job because I never had one, but thanks to hard work and a really nice boss, I finally feel comfortable in my position. There are a lot of things that I can control while I work this is why I always make sure to do the maximum I can be in control.

If I would start all over again I would look more at my co-workers that worked there in the past and try to mirror their behavior and try to copy what they were doing well. I did not expect to have so much work to do since I was just at the desk, but there is always something I can do. Helping members feeling comfortable, making sure that the shop looks nice, answering emails, or just verifying schedules.

This internship allowed me to grow not only as an employee but as a member. Even though it was just a summer job it showed me how hard it can be to be part of the “real world”. I met a lot of people here that work in New York City and have made a lot of key contacts which is really important to find a good job. I have learned a lot of things about my capacities and what my limits are. Even though I always try my best and do the maximum sometimes letting some things go and not being in control is not that bad.

The most important skill that I developed is my communication skill. Indeed, for 2 months now I have been talking only English with people every day from 8 am to 4 pm. Phone calls were not always easy, specially at the beginning. I also improved my writing skills as I am sending out emails to members for different events. It gave me a lot of experience for a first job. It gave me a new perspective of what the real world is and that is not always as easy as we think. Being able to be autonomous and make a revenue by my own was something that I am glad I got to experience. 

I wanted to give myself an idea of this job and use this experience for future ones. I know now that this field might not be the one that I will follow. I do not see myself being responsible of a small Proshop but maybe something at a bigger scale. This internship gave me a lot of insight about the job. I feel like communication is one of the greatest skills I improved, but there are also things I learned on the field, such as how to use the online-scheduling as well as the process of billing.

The most valuable experience, or probably the most important one is the network I am creating. There are a lot of members here that work in banks on Wall Street. As everyone knows New Work City is the capital of business. A lot of people have been asking me about my major, what I will want to do in the future. Some of them gave me their number for future internship opportunities. Creating a network is really important. Nowadays, most of the people that are being employed is because they knew someone in the field or working in the company.