If you had opportunities through nepo connections would you use them?

I'm an intl student in my sophomore yr at a non target big 10 school. My dad is the MD of a big finance firm back home and has connections in the US I can use to my advantage. I'm currently in the internship application process for 2026 and I don't know if I'm stupid for trying to do this on my own without leveraging those connections. My thinking was if I was gonna use his connections I could have just stayed back home and had a much more comfortable life and better comp anyway. The main reason I came to the US was so that I could be independent, do things on my own merit and really get my reps in, but seeing the state of the industry I dont know if I'm being foolish by not leveraging his connections.

I've put in a lot of work for things like technicals, resume/cover letter, interview prep etc. but if networking is the most important thing for an internship anyway then should I screw the guilt and go the nepo route?

On the one hand, I might be taking someone's spot who's equally or more deserving than me, but on the other hand I might be wasting my access to opportunities that others would kill to have?