A Summer of Growth: My Internship at Acadia
From day one of my internship at Acadia, I had one amazing experience after another. It all began during the interview stage. Learning about the company and how I might be able to apply my education in human biology and business administration in the pharmaceutical industry inspired me to strive for—and ultimately secure—the Corporate Communications internship.
I learned about the internship opportunity at Acadia through the company’s partnership with Project Onramp, a program of Life Science Cares, which provides summer internships in the life sciences industry for under-resourced and/or first-generation college students, like me. Project Onramp helps students surmount barriers while helping to streamline company access to a previously untapped pool of talent that is eager to learn.
Through this partnership, 11 talented students of all backgrounds had a chance to intern at Acadia for the summer. I was fortunate to be a part of a cohort of interns studying everything from management information systems to business administration, biology, and psychology at various schools such as UC San Diego, San Diego State University, UCLA, Stanford, and the University of Southern California, where I am a rising junior. Meeting these hardworking individuals who share my drive and passion was incredibly rewarding. We even enjoyed regular table tennis competitions, making this experience even better.
At Acadia, our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is at the core of everything we do. By partnering with Project Onramp, we are able to provide meaningful opportunities that help ensure talented individuals from all backgrounds can thrive in the life sciences industry. We are proud to support these students and are continually inspired by their drive and impressed by their capabilities.
What I enjoyed most about my time at Acadia was how the internship program was designed to not only give us insight into the corporate environment but also help us understand our workplace personalities and strengths as future employees. Acadia’s People & Performance team hosted DiSC Profile and Gallup StrengthsFinder Workshops for all the interns, which prompted me to reflect on my abilities and how to make the most of who I am as a student, employee, and friend.
One of the unique experiences at Acadia was discussing my DiSC profile with my manager and discovering our similar workplace personalities. We leveraged our strengths to create a more productive workflow. This open conversation made me feel more comfortable and confident in the workplace and my ability to complete any project.
Taking the DiSC personality test has been a transformative experience. It gave me a clear understanding of my own personality and how I can leverage it within my team. Learning about my manager’s personality has been particularly enlightening, as it has shown me how I can better support her with my own strengths.
I also enjoyed having one-on-one conversations with employees across various departments. Getting to know about the many different roles at Acadia has been eye-opening and given me a new perspective on potential career opportunities I could seek after graduating college. Despite the different focus areas, everyone I talked to seemed to have the same goal: To elevate Acadia as a company and provide solutions to those who need them most. One team that has a particularly interesting focus is the Advocacy and Industry Relations team. I was struck by how patient-driven Acadia is as they often interact with many families who have an individual in their house with rare diseases such as Rett Syndrome. Seeing firsthand how patients are at the heart of Acadia’s work has led me to consider a career path in the pharmaceutical industry.
Having one-on-one meetings with other Acadia employees I learned to see everything as an opportunity, and to grow I must be willing to take a chance to do something outside of my comfort zone.
I know I speak for all of us when I say that I am grateful to Project Onramp and to Acadia for this amazing opportunity. My teammates were always willing to answer every question I had and trusted me and my abilities. Thanks to them, I now know what to look for in a potential future employer.
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Lucia Perez Valles
