Arianna Castonguay – “I Learned Skills I Would Never Get Out of College!”

Arianna Castonguay a senior economics major at the University of Maine describes the skills that she learned while serving as an intern at the Maine Bureau of Consumer Protection. While there Arianna worked in the office taking phone calls from the public, working in the office, conducting field examinations, and co-authoring two booklets regarding financial issues in Maine. Arianna and her co-workers created the “Downeaster Common Sense Guide to Debt Collection” and the “Downeaster Common Sense Guide to Credit Cards: Paper or Plastic?”

Overall, Arianna feels as though the internship made her grow significantly as a person. In addition to gaining valuable work experience and increasing her knowledge of professionalism in the workplace, she also understands the importance of asking questions and not being afraid of being wrong or not knowing how to do something. This experience made her a more well-rounded individual who gained skills she said could not be learned within the four walls of the college classroom. The Maine Government Summer Internship Program opened her eyes to the career possibilities of someone with an economics background that she otherwise would not have known. This has allowed her to figure out where she wants to go and what she would like to do with her life after graduation.