Hello reader! My name is Carlos Crespo and I was the Social Media Intern at The LAB Miami from March till August 2016. This is my story of being the summer intern and why it turned out to be much more than just that.
It was a very interesting experience finding this internship, as I was aimlessly searching the Internet, trying to find something that looked interesting. Somehow I landed on The LAB Miami’s page and was instantly intrigued. I couldn’t wait to check out this seemingly hip and modern co-working space in Wynwood.
Once I applied for the internship, I met with Rachael Bickford, the Operations Manager at The LAB. Little did I know that I would be her first intern, but I wanted to leave a good impression. Rachael was an amazing and super polite person to work with and I believed the interview went well since I got the position! That day I also met one of the LAB employees, Santiago. He would soon become one of my best friends at The LAB and a great mentor whether it was on creative ideas or life lessons.
Becoming an intern at The LAB Miami was one of the most rewarding and unexpected things I have done in my life. Most of my summers before have either been spent on summer classes for college, hanging out with friends, or staying at home playing video games. Not to say that those things aren’t fun, but interning at The LAB made me change for the better. The entrepreneurial spirit in the space is so friendly and inviting, everyone supports each other, and ideas flow around all day, making it an exciting and refreshing place to be.
Seeing as I was the Social Media Intern, I was tasked with creating blog posts for The LAB by interviewing members that worked at the space. This experience was like a meet and greet taken to the next level, as I met many extraordinary people for my interviews that all had great stories and business philosophies. Getting to discuss all these ideas with entrepreneurs and artists sure made me feel inspired to create something in my life that I can be proud of, and I did just that.
Although I was not going to create a new tech startup or sell cold pressed juices, just two months into my internship I started a small hat line embroidered with funny sayings. It wasn’t something I had planned to do, but my time at The LAB was so inspiring and helpful in instilling the entrepreneurial spirit in me, that I just had to start my own business and create something.
What internship would encourage you to start your own business? What type of internship has such a great staff that they are all entrepreneurs themselves? I’m not sure many interns at other companies could have the experience I had, so I am very grateful for this opportunity. My co-workers were all experienced in many aspects of art, culture and business: Santi has his own content production and consulting company named Costavisions, Bryant is working on a video game for his indie game studio Good War Games and Brooke is working to become a Graphic Designer just recently graduating from college. These are just a few people that I worked with and already one can see the amount of talent at The LAB.
If you like to surround yourself with successful and bright people who like to hustle and create great work, then The LAB Miami is the place to be. Everyone there has made my internship more than just writing blog posts and taking photos, as it has taught me lessons on how to live your life and pursue your dreams by working as hard as you can to get there.
I thank Rachael Bickford and Ricardo Mesquita for letting me join the team with open arms for the summer, as it was truly an experience I will never forget! I wish nothing but the best for The LAB Miami team and all its members.
Carlos Crespo | Septermber 14th, 2016