Downsides and Benefits

     My internship had more benefits than downsides.  In order to end this internship experience on a positive note, I am going to start out by naming the few downsides.  First, I did not get the chance to make many outside connections, because I already knew the team at the Marketing Department, I never really met anyone new.  Second, since it is the summer, this is more of the slow times of the department, but my supervisor always found meaningful work for me to complete.  Third, halfway through my experience someone in my department was laid off, although I understand this can happen at anytime in a company, it really shook things up.  The lay off was sudden, and the woman left behind many pieces that we as a department had to figure out, and try to tie off some of her loose ends.  There was a couple days when I did a great amount of filing and organizing so that we could get all of the work completed that the other woman did not, so that we could move forward.  Although that was a downside, I also saw it as a benefit because I was able to experience what can happen in the blink of an eye within a company, and I feel that I would better know how to handle it in the future if or when it happens.  The benefits my internship offered me were so great, and I cannot imagine fulfilling my internship anywhere else, or working with different people.  My supervisor helped me essentially start and build upon a professional profile that I can take with me in the future to show future employers.  I also learned what it was like to work in a professional environment, and how to conduct myself in a professional manner.  I have learned everything from open a project and starting its job jacket to getting the OK to print from the client and uploading it to the printer.  Also, my supervisor has given me creative freedom within some of the projects (more of the social media projects) I have been assigned to complete.  Overall, my internship experience was better than I ever expected it to turn out, I could not have asked to be placed in a better spot for what I would like to do after graduation.  Even though there where some downsides, and some period when we were slow with work, every step of this internship experience has been exciting, and I cannot believe how quickly these six week flew.  I know that I will still remain in close contact with my internship supervisor, and will be returning to the Marketing Department for work-study next year; however, I feel this summer has shown me what I am really capable of doing, and helped me realize that this is truly what I love and want to do the rest of my life.

Hours worked:

Monday 9am - 1pm

Hours expected to work:

Tuesday 9am - 11am

Wednesday 9am - 1pm

Thursday 9am - 1pm

Friday 9am - 1pm

A letter of Recommendation

     One thing we all hear is that we should ask for a letter of recommendation from those we have worked with and had a positive experience.  I definitely feel like my time spent at the Marketing Department at Holy Family has been a positive experience on both ends.  Since I feel that it has been a positive experience, I will be asking for a letter of recommendation.  I will however, be waiting until after continuing the work I am doing now with the work- study program.  Since I am completing my six weeks and then taking a hiatus until we return to school for the fall semester I feel it is more beneficial to wait.  I personally feel that they will be able to write a better recommendation and would be able to judge me better as a worker if I were to wait at least until the end of the fall semester.  I will definitely be asking for a letter of recommendation from my supervisor at the Marketing Department within the next upcoming school year.

     The article we were asked to read this week shed some light on why us six students are spending our time during the summer to fulfill these internships, most of us without getting paid.  We are doing this, not just to waste time, but we are getting ahead of the competition when it comes to the job market.  The statement from this article that stuck out the most to me was: “Cautious employers ‘increasingly see that hiring a co-op graduate is a good strategy, since they know they are getting someone with experience’”.  Although Holy Family forces us to complete an internship in order to graduate, I believe I would have done it on my own so that I could gain experience an find my niche within the communications field.  As Dr. McClain commented on my previous post, “Communications very broad and you can do many things with your bachelor’s degree,” so I am glad I was able to spend these six weeks and find something I love.  This will help me when I begin my job search, and hopefully future employers will see this internship as a positive.  No matter how future employers see it, to me this has been a positive experience, I have had the chance to work with some amazing people, build a portfolio, and gain knowledge that I will hopefully be able to use in future jobs for years to come.

These six weeks are coming to an end very quickly!  Until I see everyone next week…

Hours worked:

Monday 9am - 2pm

Tuesday 9am - 2pm

Thursday 9am - 2pm

Friday 9am - 2pm

Three words to describe my internship

     Three words seem like so little to describe an experience that I have received so much from in just these four short weeks.  Deciding upon three words though, I would have to choose reassuring, exciting, incredible.  First I choose reassuring, because my experience at the Marketing Department has been just that to me.  As a college student, I feel that everyone goes through the experience of not knowing if they are in the right major, however having this internship experience has helped reassure me that I am definitely in the right major.  Marc Anthony once said “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I feel like I am doing just that with my internship, I am doing what I love and I have no problem getting up and going to work every morning.  My second word was exciting, because like all things there are some dull moments, but for some reason even those dull moments seem exciting to me.  Every time I am faced with a new job, or a new challenge, I get excited bout what lies ahead for me, and what I will learn.  The third and final word I choose was incredible.  Going into my internship at the Marketing Department, I admit that I was bummed because I was not able to get an internship outside of the university.  This internship has turned out better than the expectations I had if I would have gotten an outside internship, and it has been incredible learning and soaking in all of the information I can in six weeks.  I honestly can say that I am extremely happy none of the 13 place I applied to answered me back, because otherwise I would have missed the incredible opportunity our own school had to offer.

     The culture in my workplace is very fast pace.  There is always something going on, and I always have work.  The atmosphere is a bit more laid back, but everyone gets their work done and sticks to the deadlines we have to meet.  The professionals at my site have taught me so much about how to act, and how not to act in the workplace.  In addition, they have helped me with skills that will take me far into my future in the field of communications, and I know that I can always turn to them for advice and help in the future.

     I have to agree with the article for this week.  Although I am still in school and have not really applied for any jobs within the communications field, I still feel that I will be more confident when applying for jobs than I ever would have before my internship.  Another good part about my internship that the article does not really touch much on is the portfolio one can build through their internship.  My supervisor is trying to get me at least one copy of the official printed version of all of the projects that I have worked on so that I am able to build a portfolio for myself that I can take to future employers when applying for jobs.  I believe this is a great aspect and advantage of having an internship prior to entering the professional world.

     I can’t believe we are down to only having two weeks left!  I have learned so much, and can’t wait to absorb all I can in these final two weeks of my internship!

Hours worked:

Monday 9am- 1:30pm
Tuesday 9am- 1:30pm
Wednesday 9am- 1:30pm
Thursday 9am- 1pm
Friday 9am- 1:30pm

Long Term or Short Term Jobs

     This week, we are asked to describe long term or short term jobs we have worked on or completed.  With my internship position, I am constantly working on many different jobs.  For example, at one point this week I was working on three different jobs pretty much simultaneously.  My position requires me to juggle many different things at once, and personally I would want it any other way.  Some of the short term jobs I have worked on include creating a postcard to be sent out to prospective students who have come to Holy Family with an interest in Radiology.  For this project, I was given a template but then had to essentially create the entire postcard with the given design from my supervisor.  Another short term project that I am currently working on is "save the date" postcards for the Alumni department at Holy Family for upcoming events in the fall.  Like the other project, my supervisor gave me the size paper that the project should be completed on, but then gave me free reign and asked me to draw out a few possible designs.  After collaborating with my supervisor, we decided which of the designs we liked best and I began working on the postcard.  After making the postcard perfect, it was sent to our client where I was able to personally talk to the client and received feedback about my work.  I very much enjoyed being able to personally see the reaction of the client receive their feedback.  Like I stated previously, I am always working on a new job, and can work on numerous jobs in one week.  The two jobs I have described above are just some of those that I have done thus far.

     The main long term job I have worked on is the "Pinterest" page for Holy Family.  We have not yet launched the page, but it is something I am constantly working on and am trying to better everyday.  This job is one that will never stop, and even after my time as an intern, I will most likely be working on it as a work study in the marketing department.  I have researched what other universities are doing with their "Pinterest" account, and come up with numerous "pin boards" that I would like to see our school use.  Thus far, I have put five of these "pin boards" into action and am constantly looking of new things to add to each board.  I enjoy that I was able to see this from its research stage up until when we launch it, and even into the distant future. 

     The article we read this week was both encouraging and reassuring to me.  When I began my internship, I pretty much realized that it would just be an internship, because it is a small department with only a few employees.  This article has given me some insight of how to keep in contact with the people I am working with and hopefully turning this into a job at some point.  I believe this article fully shows that just because you are not immediately offered a job does not mean that your work was poor or not appreciated.  Keeping in contact with the marketing department will be easy because I do my work study there, but I will keep in contact with them on a different level.  My internship is something that I truly hope turns into a job because I wake up everyday excited to go to work, and absolutely love everything that I am doing with my internship.

Hours Worked:
Monday 9am-2pm
Tuesday 9am-2pm
Wednesday 9am-2pm
Thursday 9am-2pm