All was set for a fantastic summer in the city. After making my way through the stack of available internships at the GW Career Center, I was excited for the possibility to expand my experience as well as my wallet with a full-time, paid position.

I accepted an internship with Rev. Anthony Evans of the D.C. Black Church Initiative. Promises were made, a contract was signed and services were carried out. The agreed upon money, however, was not delivered. Rev. Evans was not able to come up with even a third of the money as guaranteed by our contract. By the time I realized I was dealing with an unethical businessman, someone out to take advantage of me, he already owed me a substantial sum of money.

While the more infamous internships of the past few years have been brought to the covers of the newspapers, others can bring you to the bottom of the barrel. Experiences such as this can prove to be an emotional and a financial disaster for students and their families. I cannot get my mother’s “I-told-you-sos” out of my head.

Would-be interns beware – there are people out there who will lie to you. I am not encouraging cynicism, but I beg all of you to check out the employers and the organizations that you apply to before accepting a position. I went into this job as a too-trusting college senior. Now I am just a broke college senior. It is worth the wait for a few extra days to secure another interview rather than lock yourself into a bad situation.

-Brian Pfeffer
senior