The New School, Day #1

Did your mother take pictures to document major milestones of your life, like the first day of school? I have distinct memories of Mom with her camera in the front yard on my first day as a second grader.

Today was the first day of a different kind of learning experience: Internship Day #1. And someone did take my picture, but not my mother. The already overworked woman at Tishman Speyer quickly snapped my mugshot at 10 a.m. with a line of other eager interns snaking behind me in desperate need of IDs.

Unlike that little second grader I used to be carrying a backpack, today I stood at the 110th Street subway stop tightly clutching my purse as I waited for the local. Instead of a sack lunch, I scooped up the largest piece of pizza I've ever seen and headed to Central Park, $3 lighter. And instead of a teacher letter to take home to my parents, I returned to the dorm with a stack of training manuals.

After four hours of content management systems tutoring, I still don't have a full grasp of what I'll be asked to perform while serving Seventeen. But luckily, I don't think it'll be the school of hard knocks. The editors were amiable and open to my questions. The two other Web interns are amazing. The building is gorgeous. I can't wait to take it all in. Ready to start Day #2!

This is my new classroom:

(we're on the 17th floor; how cute.)
photo by Michael Ficeto for businessweek.com