The most frequently used phrase around Grounds these days is not "Go Wahoos" or "ISIS sucks." Instead, it is the four-worded sentence that has become a part of one's daily routine -- "how was your summer?"
While most answers revolve around beaches, issues with parents and vacation destinations, some students have something else to criticize or praise: internships. Those summer opportunities that provide fruitful cubicle space in an office with a hint of the real world.
"It really is the real world out there," third-year College student Gretchen Nygaard, who interned at Penguin Publishing in New York, said. "You have to work nine to five. There are no vacations all summer or spring break."
According to some students, the rigidly structured working hours of an internship generally contrast strongly with a college schedule made up of class, naps and party time.
"It is pretty much going to work all day, then going home and sleeping in order to wake up early again," second-year College student Tyler Saeli, who spent his summer working at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Detroit, said. "It is a cycle, whereas in college everyday is different."
The long hours, however, didn't seem to bother Saeli.
"There was a time when I had to stay until four in the morning because we were working on a big deal," he said. "But I didn't mind the hours because I got paid overtime, and liked what I was doing."
Second-year College student Davar Irvani, who interned at Fischer Francis Trees and Watts brokerage house in New York, also noted the long hours demanded by summer internships.
"Having to wake up early and be active all day was hard, not like at college when you can sleep a lot and take naps," Irvani said with a grin. "Especially after a big night out."
Students not only noted differences in their daily schedules, but also in their lifestyles in the business world.
"Being in the real world is definitely not as much fun," Irvani said. "College is a laugh; work is pretty serious."
Nancy Hulgrave, a second-year College student who worked for Lear Corporation in Detroit, also commented on the difference.
"College is so much better because you don't need to live in a cubicle and run to the coffee machine every hour and watch the computer clock on the corner of the screen, waiting for your freedom," Hulgrave said.
Despite its hardships, students said being on the job was a fulfilling experience.
"It was so much fun to have responsibilities and feel like what you are doing has point," Nygaard said. "You are being productive in the real sense, unlike a five page paper."
Saeli also mentioned that he was taking on real responsibility at his job.
"It was just really cool that they would let me work on the transactions and deals with them, doing the real stuff" he said. "They really treated me as if I was working there."
It was usually easy for the students to get carried away in the midst of power-suits, corporate headquarters and phone rings, but the dreaded "intern stuff" sometimes crawled back into their lives.
Hulgrave said the "intern stuff" was definitely not a pleasant experience.
"Sometimes it felt like 'Office Space' -- battling with the coffee machine," she recalled unpleasantly.
"Cubicle culture" also set internship experiences apart from University life and other summer jobs.
"It is a strange concept," Saeli said. "I'd be talking on the phone and the people next door would be involved in the conversation. And for some reason we would send each other e-mails about things even though we could have just gotten up and said it."
From claustrophobic cubicles to water cooler conversations, the students said that they find internships to be one of the most fulfilling experiences in their lives.
"I think it is a really good counterpart to having a liberal arts education by supplying you with the real world experience that would enhance the classical education you get at university," Hulgrave said. "I am doing econ and politics, so through an internship, I can get a practical edge."
Nygaard also commented on the internship influenced her future career choices.
"Even if I didn't have daily duties or a lot of constant tasks, I still felt that by being there and living in New York, I learnt so much about the business and how things work," she said. "It is a scary world out there, and now I feel like at least I have a much better idea about taxes, paychecks and what I might be doing after I graduate."
Nygaard also added that she has realized certain things about life after graduation she wouldn't have realized without her internship.
"The people I worked with on the entry level barely make enough money to live in Manhattan," she said. "It will be hard to change my lifestyle from a very affordable Charlottesville to a big city like New York where everything costs so much."
In addition to work experience, some of the students said they enjoyed unique moments that only come with hard work.
"The coolest thing was working on a deal and then seeing it in the Wall Street Journal or some other big publication," Saeli said. "It was just great."
Nygaard also had a very special moment thanks to her internship.
"The publishing house I worked for was doing a book on Daniel Liebeskind, the architect picked to design the new World Trade Center," she said. "And I actually got to go to his office looking over the Ground Zero and see first hand what they were creating -- what will become one of the most important monuments of our lifetime."
Along with office experiences, students also gained some big city knowledge.
"It was a great experience [to live in New York], especially because I am from a small town. It gave me confidence that I can go and live in a city after college," Nygaard said. "But the NYU dorms sucked, we really should cherish our first-year dorms."
Irvani also had some complaining to do about New York University's dorms.
"NYU dorms make you happy to go to a university where it is green and clean," he said. "That place was just so dirty, especially because my roommate had a molting problem"
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