Some journalism students used the summer to seek professional experience while working at an internship and even got paid to do so.
At the fall Public Relations Student Society of America meeting, four student panelists shared “How I Spent My Summer,” based on their internship experience.
Nate Lowe, a public relations senior, interned with MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas.
“It definitely was a ton of professional experience,” he shared. “I was able to write for the internal company newsletter and in fact, one of my stories was even picked up as a national news story.”
While spending the summer in a work environment may not sound appealing, many on the panel agreed it was worthwhile.
“I learned so much from my internship experience,” said Kelsey Rentner, who interned with R-P Marketing in Toledo, Ohio. “It was a great group of people, and I liked it so much I stayed on this semester, even while taking classes.”
Simone Jackson, a public relations senior, interned at Cooper Tire in Findlay, Ohio, during a time when the company was in the process of a corporate buyout.
“My project involved the company’s 100-year anniversary, which will occur in 2014. They wanted to share their employees’ stories, so I interviewed many employees to have their stories told,” she explained.
The company plans to put into a book to commemorate the anniversary milestone.
Lisa Wendel, a public relations senior, interned with retailer Hickory Farms, in Maumee, Ohio.
“I did a ton of social media for the company, everything from monitoring competitor’s websites to suggesting posts for the company’s Facebook and Twitter sites,” she said. “It’s a good experience for someone who is self-guided and able to work independently.”
BGSU’s Public Relations sequence requires two internships – one on-campus and one off-campus – once the student has completed J2000, Introduction to Journalistic Writing. A GPA of 2.5 or higher in journalism classes is also required in order to gain credit for the internship experience.
If you have a project and could consider hosting a BGSU intern, please email a job description to Public Relations Lecturer Julie Hagenbuch at hagenjk@bgsu.edu. There are many students who could be a good match for your needs.