I have learned what marketing and graphic design fully consists of. When I was first introduced to this opportunity of “marketing” I thought that I was going to dislike it. However, I have learned that not only do I enjoy it but that I would also like to possibly pursue it after graduation. I have learned what type of work environment I work best in. Being able to create things that benefit the people like flyers, posters, and social media posts has helped me grow significantly. Prior to this internship, my art and ideas were private. They were not put out into the public and there was no criticism to be had. Being given information and using my skills to create what I think best fits it and then sending it in for critiques has benefited me the most. It has taught me to have confidence in my creations. Learning how to navigate websites and software is something that I was never good at until this experience. I catch myself using these skills every day now. Things as simple as being professional and having a professional job is something that I was looking forward to experience as well. Communicating professionally and knowing how to. All of the expeirennces and skills that I have leaered in the past two months align with what I am interested in pursuing after high school.
I have found creating one of the most enjoyable aspects of my internship. I have loved being able to make things that have purpose and pushing them out to the public. I have also enjoyed the simple things like cutting papers or washing vegetables. I like being able to engage in meetings and offer my input and ideas. I also enjoy the people I work with. I am grateful everyday for the strong and powerful women that I get to work with. They are such amazing rolemodels and each of them have taught me many valuable things.
Like I said before, I did not think that I was going to enjoy marketing as much as I do. Throughout the last two months I have become more intrigued in learning about graphic design as well as the marketing side of it.
Over the past month, I have learned that not every day will go as planned, and for me, this is something I handle well. I have also learned that it is okay — and very important — to ask for help when feeling overwhelmed. My understanding of day-to-day responsibilities has evolved; I used to get overwhelmed thinking about others relying on me or having to complete many tasks before a deadline. However, after spending more than two hours a day at the hospital these past two weeks, I have found that as long as you manage your time, everything is easier. I have started to embrace and enjoy challenges rather than fear them.
I recently had a realization about how much I’ve learned over the past three months. I have gained an incredible amount of graphic design skills I did not realize I had. The repetition of creating social media posts, flyers, and other projects — which I started with and still continue to work on — has taught me a lot about marketing to specific age groups, events, and overall interests. While I am confident in the skills I have, I am eager to continue learning.
Since the beginning of my internship, I’ve become more comfortable in the professional work environment. Initially, I was not sure how to communicate with others, whether it was making small talk or participating in meetings. I was hesitant to share my opinions and overall I was just nervous. As I began to form relationships with my supervisor and the women in the community relations department, I became much more at ease. A specific moment that stands out is the day after the election. I came into the office feeling upset, and they all took the time to talk to me and made me feel safe and seen. Seeing my designs out in the world, such as on social media with likes and comments, has boosted my confidence. Something else that has made me more confident is simply receiving positive feedback from the women I work with when they like what I have created.
As I have spent time looking back on my entire internship experience, a few of the most significant things I have learned are how to manage my stress, speak up when I am unsure and ask for help, and push through when I am given projects that are not my favorite. Overall, I believe that the most important thing I have learned is how to manage my time and stress. I am still learning how to balance school, work, college, and life after high school, as well as extracurriculars. By accepting that I might need help and being open to asking questions, I have learned that I do not need to do it all by myself. I have learned that it is normal to ask for help.
These new skills and experiences have changed my confidence in a professional setting significantly since the beginning of my internship. I used to doubt my abilities, especially when I was given a project that I either did not have interest in or that I thought was difficult. After learning and completing projects, my confidence has risen, even if I did not realize it at the time. Asking questions has allowed me to learn new things, which inevitably gave me confidence.
I have learned many lessons throughout this experience, like career insights, professional workplace skills, communication, working with a team, perseverance, and time management. The most important lessons I have learned are learning about career interests and what I like and do not like. Prior to my internship, I had no clue what I wanted to do, if I wanted to go to school, or even how I would turn my interests into a career. The next lesson is workplace skills and communication. I feel these are in the same category as learning how to communicate was one of the first skills I learned and one of the most important. The last skill that I talked about previously is time and stress management. This was something I was worried about in the beginning, but I still continue to work and progress with it. These lessons connect to my future goals as they will help me in school and my future job.
As I stated earlier, the biggest challenge I have faced was dealing with projects that I did not want to complete. I might have thought they were boring or difficult. I handled it by asking questions and persevering. I do not think that there is anything else I would have done differently.
This internship both confirmed and changed my thoughts about my career. I thought that I wanted to go into a career that uses art and creativity; I just was unsure what that was. I am now going to attend a two-year college and get a Fine Arts Transfer major.
If I were to summarize this experience in one word, it would be helpful. This internship has helped me in more than one aspect of my life. One piece of advice I would share with future interns is to be curious. Never stop asking questions, and do not be scared to fail. Mistakes are learning opportunities.