Internship Lessons Learned: Whiting, Ksenyia Kudzelich

A year ago I couldn’t even imagine what my life would be like and what I would be doing. Now I am finishing my internship at Whiting Petroleum, and I am very sad to leave – the people, the work I am doing, and my lifestyle. There are way too many things I would love to share with you, but I outlined the main ones that I find helpful.

• Detail orientation. I remember last year it was one of the most repeatedly mentioned skills that everyone must have in order to succeed. Yes, it is very necessary, but hey, don’t let it scare you away! If you don’t think you are that detail-oriented, it doesn’t mean you are destined to fail. It’s an acquired skill; it will take a lot of practice and time, but you can get there. Just don’t give up on it and practice, practice, practice.

• Don’t be in a hurry, ever! Take your time (within a reason), and double check, triple check your work. No one will benefit from a sloppy done job, especially you.

• Don’t be picky at school – learn everything. I was surprised at how many non-oil and gas classes helped me throughout my internship: Excel, accounting, business communication (!) and even psychology.

•  When working on a project, dig it. Read court cases, try to connect the dots, ask yourself why it’s happening and who benefits from it, no matter what the project is. Enjoy what you are doing. If you try to finish an assignment just to finish, there is no point (and I am just speaking for myself, that might be an arguable statement). People that come in the industry with high expectations and a closed mind don’t fail, but they are not noticed – there are way too many folks like that. Again, someone might argue. 

• Work for the job and then the job will work for you. Stay a little longer, do more than asked, walk an extra mile – and you will benefit from it. You will learn so much more, and the job will get more interesting, cases will get more complicated and fun. Do you want more? If yes, take this advice.

• Be yourself. Seriously, just be yourself.

And last but not least, it’s better to try the internship once than hear about it a hundred times. Get yourself out there, this is fun!

I just wanted to thank many people that made my summer happen, starting with Menon that gave me confidence, opportunity, and believed in me, Jeff and alumni that constantly develop the program, Whiting that saw the potential and took me on board. I love my job!! Denver likes Western, so let’s keep up this way. Western Up!

KK