Employer
Bridge Communities
Internship Title
Community Engagement Intern
What were your duties?
At Bridge, I worked on projects for the many upcoming charity events they were holding. I wrote press releases for the events to send out to the community, along with blog posts to put on their website giving more information on the events. I also helped post on the Bridge Communities social media to promote the events as well. I reached out to local businesses through ask letters to get donations for the annual Glen Ellyn Backyard Barbecue event held every September. This past summer they were celebrating their 30th anniversary as a non-profit organization so they held many different events that I was lucky enough to help with this summer. I helped plan the event details such as food, decorations and more. I was included on touring the venue and getting to give my input. A few side projects I was given was updating the homelessness curriculum that they have for children K-12, researched scholarship opportunities for adults in their program who wanted to go back to college and participated in many of the children's activities they put on at their Learning Resource Centers.
What did you most enjoy about your internship?
I enjoyed the people I worked with most because they were all so close, friendly and including since it was a small organization of only about 30 employees. They would always invite me to sit in on their meetings and took the time to really teach me valuable skills that I could take with me into my career. They tried their best to give me tasks that would benefit me with my major, like providing me the Instagram password and giving me a lot of free range on it. I enjoyed running the Instagram and applying the writing skills I have learned at school into the press release and blogs. I did not expect to build such a great relationship and come out of my internship with a group of people I could rely on, especially for letters of recommendation and career support.
What was the most difficult aspect of the internship?
The most difficult aspect for me was speaking up with what I thought. As an intern, I was able to sit in on many meetings, but I felt nervous to give any input in a big group setting. This was especially hard in the beginning of my internship, but towards the end I felt more comfortable and slowing started giving input. I think this was because I was learning so much and I was not sure if I was educated enough on the topic to give insightful input. I learned as the summer went on, that it is better to speak up and giving input is not something that is ever right or wrong.
How did your experience at ILLINOIS and in the College of Media prepare you for your internship?
The College of Media really helped give me great tips to prepare me for my internship through the MACS 495 class. I was given so many resources that helped me start off my internship with many questions answered and I knew what to expect. It also helped me analyze things more than I would have through my weekly blogs and informational interview, which really helped me get a well-rounded experience. My advisor Holly has also been so great at guiding me and giving me advice whenever I ask and I am so thankful for that!
How has your internship prepared you for a career?
I feel much more prepared for my career because of my internship and how much I have learned. I learned what is it is like to be in a professional job setting, such as going to weekly all staff meetings, communicating through e-mail and phone, and planning events. It was great to be able to be put into those situations and to know what to expect when I start my career. I also learned so much about how social media is very important to a business because that is one of the largest platforms businesses use to promote themselves. I now know how to make a communication schedule and what strategies are best when trying to catch a consumer's attention. This is ideally what I want to do in my career so getting to work with a business's social media was really beneficial and showed me what I thought I wanted to do is what I do want to do.
What recommendations do you have for other students about doing an internship?
There are so many opportunities out there, so be very open. I never thought working at a non-profit would benefit me the way it did for my advertising career. Try to reach out of the box and apply for more places other than just media or marketing related agencies. I was able to get experience from a homelessness non-profit that I feel like prepared me just as well as someone who worked at an advertising agency. Also, do not be afraid to ask for more. I asked to do more than I was originally assigned to this summer because I knew what I wanted to get out of my internship as well and my job loved that!