I’m in a bit of a dilemma and could really use some advice.
I am soon starting my first-ever internship at a well-known tech company. Its a onsite summer internship. It’s a big opportunity for me, and since I’m new, I really don’t want to mess anything up or give a bad impression, especially since a full-time offer could depend on how I perform here.
At the same time, I’ve been actively involved in an open-source community for a while, and they’ve invited me to mentor at a national-level hackathon. This isn’t just a casual thing, it’s something I’ve worked toward, and it means a lot to me personally.
Here’s the issue: The hackathon overlaps with the weekend, thats fine but there’s also a pre-event meeting a day earlier that I’m expected to attend if I take on the mentor role (work day).
I see a few options:
- Ask my manager for leave, but I’m worried how that looks this early into the internship and not serious about the company and the internship
- Skip the pre-event meeting and only attend the main event
- Not go at all
- Or take leave without being fully honest, which doesn’t sit right with me
I don’t want to risk my internship, but I also don’t want to miss out on something that’s genuinely important to me and part of my journey.
Has anyone here been in a similar situation? How did you handle it, especially early in an internship?
Would really appreciate honest advice. Thanks in advance.