This past summer, I had the privilege of interning for a Public Relations firm back in my hometown of Savannah, GA. It is hard for me to put into words what this opportunity has meant and done for me, but I will try to give it the justice it deserves as well as stress the importance of internships in general.

Going into this internship, I was a business marketing major at Georgia College and State University with no idea of what I wanted to be or do with that degree. Within two weeks of my internship, I had already gotten in touch with my advisor and changed my major to public relations. That means within just two weeks of helping to write press releases and attending meetings, I learned more than I ever could have imagined and realized this is exactly what I wanted to be doing with my life in the future.

I helped with a variety of tasks, ranging from writing press releases, media advisories, and newsmakers, to updating Abshire PR’s Twitter, to writing a few blog posts, to attending meetings and luncheons with clients. There was not one thing I did not look forward to or did not learn from. Like I said before, I was a marketing major with no clue what to do, so that meant I really had no idea what was or even the difference between press releases, media advisories, and newsmakers. I was provided with the information and examples to look at for reference and was told to take a stab at it. That was the best thing to hear honestly, because I needed to go off on my own and try my best to make it what they were looking for. I was taught to be responsible, ask questions when needed, but most importantly, to be independent and do my research to get what was assigned completed in a timely manner. There were many more tasks and events I did, but I will save all that for a public relations major who is actually interested in what I did!

The most significant thing I learned from this entire experience was how important internships are. You have to actually get out there in the field of study you are taking classes in and explore what you potentially might be doing in the future to be completely positive that it’s what you want to do. I did not know public relations was for me until I actually experienced it. Internships are eye-opening and a great way to get involved and reassure you that you are making the right decisions in regard to your career choices.

With the help of five amazing women, I was able to figure out exactly what I want to be doing with no doubt or hesitation because I have actually experienced the real world of public relations. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity with this amazing firm and wish this summer did not have to come to an end!

I advise all of you to try to find a way to get involved in your selected major or even a different field of study that you are interested in. You might fall in love with your decision even more, find something new you are good at and dedicated to, or even eliminate what you know you don't want to be doing. You will benefit from an opportunity like an internship no matter what.

Also, just FYI, my internship was NOT PAID. Yep, that's right, I dedicated so much time of my summer to something that I did not even get paid for, but there is not enough money to have matched how much I benefitted from the experience (that's a little extreme, I know, but true!).