My summer internship experience

I have successfully completed over 200 hours interning at CAMC Marketing and Public Affairs. As I sit here thinking about the past three months, I have nothing but good memories from my summer internship. Not only did I gain more experience than I could have imagined, but I made a lot of great friends (who also happen to be my new mentors!)

I got tons of experience; more than I ever could have imagined. I wrote, edited, observed, assisted with social media research, sat in on meetings, and helped develop advertising campaigns. I even got to head up my own design project!

Something that really stood out to me this summer was how close the marketing team is and how well they work together. I’ve been spoiled working with them and I know it will be difficult to find another team like this one.

I can’t wait to start this school year and all my activities and I will take everything I learned this summer with me.

Let the sunshine in

This whole summer I’ve been going non-stop. Since the day I got home from Athens, I’ve had two days off. Monday through Thursday I intern at CAMC Marketing and Public Affairs. Friday through Sunday I work at Cracker Barrel. Throw in a few hours of babysitting every other week and you have one busy summer.

While I love my internship and the added bonus that it’s teaching me to be a morning person and I like the paycheck I get from the restaurant, I realized how much I’ve missed having time to simply do nothing.

This week I’m on vacation with my family and it’s the first time in a long time that there isn’t anything that I have to do. I can sleep as late as I want, lie on the beach the whole day and soak up the sun.

On the island we’re staying on there is limited cell phone service. While this of course disappointed me at first as I am an avid text messager and like to be connected at all times, I think it’s been good for me. I’ve been forced to simply forget about everything else and focus on the here and now.

I think this is a lesson I need to take back to West Virginia after the week is over. I seem to always be on Facebook, Twitter, e-mail or texting and there isn’t a minute in my day where I sit and do nothing. While there is so much pressure from the fast-paced society to go, go, go, I think there is value in taking time to kick back, relax and enjoy life. Maybe if I do that, the rest of the summer won’t fly by so fast.

Hospital intern without the MD

After a month of working at CAMC Marketing and Public Affairs, I cannot believe how much I’ve been exposed to. I’ve attended countless meetings, sat in on phone calls and written press releases for media and various other writing assignments.

It never ceases to amaze me how much goes into a PR plan or a communications campaign or even the way the talent says the words in a radio spot. But the most valuable experience I’ve received so far is simply getting to talk to so many different professionals. Simply getting opinions about how to send press releases or how to contact people for interviews is invaluable stuff.

Even though I’m only the intern, I still feel like a part of the team. I am asked my opinion and it actually counts! I get constructive criticism that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I simply cannot say enough about how amazing this experience has been.

The best part about my internship is that I actually enjoy going to work. I’m not usually a morning person, but when my alarm goes off at 7 or 7:30 a.m. I actually want to get up. (My office loves coffee as much as I do, so that’s an added bonus!) Sometimes I go in early and stay late so I can be a part of every experience possible.

I still have one month left as an intern and I will be sad when summer ends, but I know this experience is a great foundation for building my career.