Preena Patel
Twitter: @preenz33
LinkedIn
Graduation Year: May 2015
Major: Advertising
Hometown: Champaign, IL
Campus Activities
- Illinois Public Relations Student Society of America
- Illinois American Advertising Federation
Hobbies: Baking, Traveling, Reading, Painting, Music, Hanging out with friends
Internship: Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) - Public Relations and Journalism Intern
What were your duties?
I have a variety of duties which include: interviewing student start-up companies and writing an article for my weekly column, "Startups to Watch." I also help to organize, promote, and execute events for the Technology Entrepreneur Center. I also assist in managing TEC's social media pages.
What did you most enjoy about your internship?
My favorite part of this internship is how much responsibility I am given in this position. At TEC, the team really pushes you to be an independent thinker. I was completely in charge of my column as well as a few of the events that we held this year.
What was the most difficult aspect of the internship?
TEC hosts a lot of events outside of the normal work day. Although I loved being able to attend and work the events that I assisted in planning or planned on my own, it has not always been easy balancing work and school.
How did your experience at Illinois and in the College of Media prepare you for your internship?
The College of Media definitely helped prepare me for my internship. I am currently working towards my Public Relations Certificate, and the classes that I have taken have improved my writing skills which helped land me this position.
How has your internship prepared you for a career?
After graduation, I would love to work in public relations. This internship has helped strengthen my interpersonal, writing, critical thinking, event planning, and problem solving skills. Since I was given a variety of responsibilities during this internship, it really has prepared me to work in the different aspects of being a PR Specialist.
What recommendations do you have for other students about doing an internship?I would definitely recommend that students have an internship before they graduate! It's a great way to see if the career choice you are thinking of is the right one for you. I also suggest that students look to smaller companies because those are the internships that allow you to work on more projects. I have been an intern in a few companies over the past few years, but the ones that I have enjoyed the most were in smaller companies because I was able to work on real projects and was able to get a sense of what it would be really like to work in the industry.
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