Summer Growth Spurt

Sep 15, 2021

By E. Anderson

My first week as a summer student at Lakeland Networks was a little overwhelming. I was being trained in many different areas, learning more than I would from a university textbook; it made me think, “If this is just a summer student position I don’t know if I’m ready for the real world”.  

I have never been confident in my abilities, thinking that success is something I would be lucky to stumble upon. After my few days of training I began working on marketing projects, contacting companies to receive quotes, and building excel sheets to keep track of information. I realized that this was nothing I could not handle, but I was still building up the courage to make phone calls, take risks, and I relied on reassurance from other people to believe that I was doing a good job.

Throughout the last two months at Lakeland, I have taken on larger projects, connected with internal and external people, seen new areas in Muskoka that I hadn’t before, and have had the opportunity to learn what goes on behind the scenes of each aspect of the company. Within the high paced environment that each new day brings—creating social media content, delivering hockey pucks by kayak, taking pictures of towers being built, assessing and verifying new website content—I became more comfortable within myself, my position, and with my peers. I began to see the opportunities ahead of me and realized that I have lots to offer in return. My mindset changed—success is not something you run into by chance. In these last few months, I have seen myself grow not only in this position but as a person. I am no longer afraid to answer calls, I feel confident in my ideas, my contributions, and I am excited to learn and grow even more. I have learned not that I have stumbled upon success, but that I am capable of grabbing success by the hand and leading the way.