My Summer as an Intern

When my search for the perfect internship began I was bright eyed and hoping for the best. Shortly after reality hit and I found myself wondering if I would even have an internship in the summer of 2009. After a few weeks of worrying, I got an email about an internship opportunity in Eatonton for The Plaza Arts Center. I responded right away. I soon had an interview, and afterwards I could not stop smiling. I had such a great feeling about the building, the interviewer and the job. I did not want to jinx myself so I kept my good feelings to myself. Finally, I received an email telling me I had gotten the internship. Words cannot say how excited I was about this opportunity.

During my summer, I got to be a part of a lot of neat projects. My favorite project was "The Meet Me at The Plaza" concert series. I was the public relations chair for the series. Before the series began, I designed and wrote a brochure detailing each performer, specifics about tickets and general information. The distribution of the brochures was divided amongst the board. In addition to the brochures, I designed flyers and wrote press releases for the three performances. I enjoyed going to the event and seeing the success of my promoting.

My first big project was to promote Eatonton’s Got Talent. This year was only the program’s second year of being at The Plaza. Since it was still new to the community, my public relations skills were truly tested. About a month before the event, I designed the flyers to put up around town. I also designed the event's programs and tickets. The flyers, tickets and programs all had a cohesive design, which helped the community recognize the event from other competing programs.

Other public relation duties entailed designing flyers and writing press releases for The Manhattan String Quart and Camp Broadway, a drama camp for children. One of the reasons I was chosen for this internship was because of my love for design. Sometimes I got frustrated with her because she wanted too much information on a flyer, but it gave me good experience learning to do what the client wanted.

My internship at The Plaza Arts Center has been a great place to get my feet wet in the public relations world. The Plaza has helped me brush up on my design, media relations, writing and event planning skills. I learned about dealing with a broad of directors and communication within a company. Next summer I plan to have another internship in Atlanta that will prepare me even more for the real world of public relations.