Internship Interviews...or "How Steven Spent Several Thousand Dollars Flying All Over the Country to Get a Measly One-Year Internship"

At the beginning of the internship interview circuit, I had big dreams of writing in my blog at each stop. Given that my first full week of interviews had me in five different cities in five days’ time, I guess it’s no surprise that I’m lumping the whole experience into one big entry. It’s just as well, though…I don’t know if the presupposed daily entries would have been coherent given that my two all-encompassing tasks during that time were flying in airplanes and playing the role of interviewee.

Overall, I applied to 20 sites and had 16 interview offers. I agreed to go on 11 in-person and complete 2 over the phone. Some interviews went well, others not so much. Some sites wowed me, some were yawners, and one made me want to run screaming from the building ten minutes in. Because everyone’s experience is different, and out of respect for the fact that sites can change from year to year, I won’t specify which of the interviews below fit into these categories. Here’s the rundown:

December 19th Harvard Medical School/Children’s Hospital Boston
January 5th Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
January 6th University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
January 7th Oregon Health Sciences University
January 8th UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital
January 9th Children’s Hospital Orange County
January 12th Stanford/Children’s Health Council Consortium
January 14th Children’s National Medical Center
January 15th Children’s Memorial Hospital
January 16th Primary Children’s Medical Center
January 16th Spokane Mental Health (via phone)
January 20th The Children’s Hospital
January 24th Morrison Child and Family Services (via phone)

A big thanks to everyone who provided lodging, transportation, advice, food, and overall support throughout this process. I couldn’t have made it through without you. Looking back, I feel as though I grew by leaps and bounds during the process. I feel wiser, more mature, stable, and sure of myself. I never thought that such a grueling, costly, ridiculously-intense-given-the-fact-that-it’s-only-one-year-of-your-life internship application process would be one that I’m ultimately very grateful to have experienced.

My rankings have been submitted to and certified with National Matching Services Inc. I’m keeping mum about my decisions…even my mum doesn’t know which sites I ranked first. From now through the morning of Match Part One (i.e., when you find out if, but not where, you matched), I will be in the Caribbean. I really think it’s better that way, don’t you?

Below you can find some of the photographic highlights from my internship interview journeys. They might be best enjoyed while listening to Fall Out Boy’s “Folie à Deux” album, something I did before and after each and every interview. It helped me center myself and focus on holding them all in context simultaneously.

I took up fancy (yet surprisingly affordable) digs at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel while I was in town. Off to a good start!

My friend Rhea from the PCIT days now lives in Boston, and she recommended Parish Café just down the road. Parish has sandwiches created by all the famous local chefs in Boston. Hey, there she is now. Hey Rhea! Let's go eat...

I had the Regal Regis, created by Susan Regis, Chef @ Upstairs on the Square in Cambridge. It consisted of sliced flank steak and portobello mushrooms in a soy, scallion, and balsamic marinade, served on parmesan crusted French bread with a side of homemade potato salad.

At my request, our next stop was Old South Church near Copley Square...

Sweet, a bakery on Massachusetts Ave, was worth trudging through the snow and sludge. I had a chocolate peppermint cupcake...delicious!

After Rhea and I parted, I had a substandard bowl of clam chowder and a lackluster lobster at Ye Olde Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in the United States. While in the North End, I stopped by the iconic Mike's Pastry for (my first!) cannoli, a black-and-white cookie, and a Boston Cream puff to be devoured for breakfast the next morning.

Later that evening, I went to a phenomenal Christmas performance at Faneuil Hall...thanks, again, to Rhea for finding out about it!

While in Los Angeles, one of my former missionary companions and now good friend, Sanie, took me down to Santa Monica Beach.

Santa Monica Pier

When we got to the end of the pier, a young man was performing. The crowd wasn't very large, but he sang with feeling in one of those slightly raspy voices I like so much. I bought his demo CD but, in retrospect, he sounded better live. Maybe it was the magic of being in above-freezing temperatures (yeah, Chicago, I'm talking to you, punk!).

I shall miss Sanie's cat, Dewey. Hi, Dewey!

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

Newport Beach marked an important milestone.

While in San Francisco, I went to the Exploratorium with Kim, Jason, and their son, Sebastian. Kim and I worked together at B. Dalton in high school, majored in psychology at the U of U, and are now both finishing up grad school in clinical psychology. If only the current Steven and Kim could travel back in time to warn Steven and Kim in the year 2003. “Turn back! Turn back! Turn back, 2003 Steven and Kim! Too much trauma awaits!” Alas, this cannot happen unless current Steven and Kim go to the island.

Walking around on the Stanford University campus, I couldn’t help but think of Orange County.

I know it seems strange, but I find the DC Metro to be magnificent-looking.

I don’t remember which building this is, but it sure is neat.

The U.S. Capitol Building prepares for President Obama’s inauguration.

Oh, hey, it’s -40 degrees outside and there are icicles hanging from the train. Welcome back to Chicago, Steven.

No cross-country trip would be complete without an adorable little nephew waiting at the end. Hello, Ammon!

Day Seven: Kirtland and Hiram

What a busy final day. After a breakfast of strata (reportedly Bob Hope’s recipe), sticky bacon (covered in maple syrup), biscuits, and a top-notch berry-type concoction, accompanied by a step-by-step account of the B&B’s restoration, we headed out. Following a brief stop at an antique store (where I picked up two historical books from the mid-1900s), we arrived at Historic Kirtland, a series of restored homes and sites managed by the Church. We first watched a video about the history of the Latter-day Saints in the Kirtland area, which touched Mom deeply. Next, we toured the Whitney home, where we learned about summer kitchens (off to the side of the house to keep heat out during summer cooking) and that yellow was the most expensive pigment in the 1830s, so if you painted your house yellow, you were kind of a big deal. The Whitney Store was well-stocked, and the School of the Prophets upstairs inspired lofty thoughts. After a stop at the John Johnson Inn (turned into an auxiliary visitor’s center), we observed a working sawmill and the only operative ashery remaining in North America. Apparently the stuff that falls to the bottom of your fireplace could be turned into a cash cow back in the day.

Homestead House Bed & Breakfast

Whitney Home

Whitney Store



School of the Prophets inside Whitney Store



Manuscript of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible



First Edition Book of Mormon

Sawmill and Ashery

Mom and I hightailed it to the Kirtland Temple, which is currently owned by the Community of Christ, a group that split off from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the death of Joseph Smith, Jr. It was great to see the temple, but it kind of felt more like a historical building than a sacred place. This may be due in part to the plethora of folks who have occupied it over the years. Still, it was interesting to step inside this key spot in LDS history.

Zooming through the area from which the stone for the Kirtland Temple was quarried, we headed to Hiram to see the John Johnson Farm. Joseph Smith, Jr., and his family lived with the Johnsons for one year, during which time many of the sections in the Doctrine and Covenants were received, including the section on what happens in the afterlife. The room in which these revelations occurred fills one with the spirit of enlightenment and peace.

Kirtland Temple Stone Quarry

John Johnson Farm

This has been a truly rejuvenating and insightful trip on so many levels. I wish we’d have bypassed Toronto and spent an extra day in Ohio in order to see all the significant LDS sites and spend some time chilling with the Amish. I’ve always wanted to kick it Amish style, and I’ve only had the chance once when I was interviewing in Pennsylvania for graduate school. Well, I did get some cool salt in Toronto, so whatever. Be sure to stop by next February for my oh-I’m-so-tired-from-the-internship-application-and-interview-process-now-that-my-rankings-are-submitted-I’m-getting-the-heck-out-of-town Caribbean cruise.

Day Six: Toronto to Willoughby

There isn’t much to say about today. We decided to get an early start on today’s drive from Toronto to Willoughby, OH in case we hit some snags (which we did). Perhaps I’ll come back to Toronto one day, but based on my experience thus far, I think Chicago is a much better fit for me.

It took us longer than anticipated to arrive in Ohio due to construction on some of the roads. We took a detour between Pennsylvania and Ohio (thanks GPS unit!) and were able to see some of the countryside towns. Very nice. However, we didn’t get in early enough to see some of the Church history sites on our list, which had to be bumped to tomorrow’s schedule. Once we arrived at Homestead House Bed & Breakfast in Willoughby (a large, late 19th century restored property that operates on a much grander, larger scale than the others we’ve stayed in), we grabbed a bite at the Willoughby Brewing Company (Santa Fe Chicken Salad for me, Bibb Salad and Cheddar Potato Ale Soup for Mom) and ran back through the rain back to the hotel to rest. I think we are wearing out. Speaking of wearing out, I had seven episodes of major hiccups today. The owner of the B&B gave me a spoonful of wet sugar and made me swallow it. Guess what? It works.

My day ended in the bathtub. The room came with a big Jacuzzi bathtub, which seemed super cool. I haven’t taken a bath in years since, well, I’m too big to stretch out in a standard size tub. I poured in some bubble bath stuff and let the water flow (yeah, I know it’s not environmentally friendly to take baths). Once it seemed about right, I settled in and turned on the jets. AAAAH! Not aaaah as in “sigh…this feels nice,” aaah as in “oh no!” Within seconds of operation the jets churned out enough bubbles to send them rolling over the edge of the tub. Sigh. So I turned the jets off and just sat there. I reflected back on all the times I’d seen people portrayed in popular media as relaxing in a tub and I found that I didn’t have a bunch of candles (there was one, but no matches), chocolate covered strawberries (not my favorite anyway), champagne (I don’t drink), someone to make out with (sigh), or a novel to read (mine was sitting back in the car). Boring. I ended up getting so frustrated with my lack of being able to relax that I drained the tub and took a shower instead. Disappointing.

Day Five: Toronto

In retrospect, it may not have been the best idea to stay only one night in Toronto. Mom and I rolled into town shortly after 1pm and by the time we were parked, checked in to the Hotel Victoria (Toronto’s 2nd oldest hotel, built in 1909), and fed, it was a little after 3pm. Hmm. Although Toronto is smaller than Chicago, it still has much to offer and I’m afraid I had circled quite a few prospects in my tour guide book. In order to get the most out of our time, we tried to hit some spots downtown, starting with St. James Cathedral (regal and holy), followed by Toronto’s First Post Office (disappointing), and concluding with the St. Lawrence Market (expansive, sort of). We started off with some gigantic fresh raspberries, followed by a stroll past various vendors of cheese, meat, spice, and other culinary delights. Downstairs, I picked up some coarse Salish smoked salt, which has a delicious smoky flavor, from Selsi Salt Bar.

St. James Cathedral

After stopping by Jamie Oliver’s Wine Bar to see if he was there tonight (he wasn’t, even though the tour guide book suggested that he usually is), we ended up at Terroni (another tour guide book recommendation). We started off with the Funghi Assoluti, composed of baked oyster mushrooms, parmigiano, arugula, and balamic vinaigrette. For the main course, Mom had Rigatoni Arcobaleno, with tomatoes, zuchinni, and romano in a creamy tomato sauce. I had the Pappardelle alla Iosa with homemade spicy sausage, button and oyster mushrooms, peas, parmigiano, and olive oil. Both of us had a wonderful meal and headed back to the hotel in order to get a fresh start on tomorrow.