This summer I had the honor of interning at the Hudson Valley Parent magazine. I wanted to make my summer worthwhile by discovering what it is like to work at a magazine publishing company. I also wanted to discover whether this was the career path that I wanted to go down. I have always been torn on one day becoming a teacher or writer. Interning at this company was extremely beneficial and I'm so happy that I had the chance to be a part of their team.

Unlike many internships where you do simple office work or, god forbid, go fetch coffee, I had the amazing opportunity to get involved in a variety of different tasks. I exported their events onto their calendar on their official online website and conducted research to discover more events occurring in the Hudson Valley area. As someone who lives in the Hudson Valley, I learned a lot about what was going on and discovered places that I didn't know about in the area. My favorite task that I was assigned to do was writing articles. I have always loved to write and now was my chance to experience what it was like to have my writing published. From a Hudson Valley Road Trip article to a Parent's Guide to Social Media, I wrote a variety of different topics for the parents in the Hudson Valley area to read. The most exciting part for me was having an article published in their September print magazine!

I feel that I have learned so much through this internship. This would not have been possible without their friendly and informative staff. The staff was very willing to show me what they do and tell me how their process works for their monthly magazines. As I eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and goldfish during lunch like the child I am, they told me so much about the process of publishing as well as a peek inside their lives and how they came to choose their professions. I love the close relationship that the staff have with one another and I think that it makes the job even more worthwhile.

Through working closely with the staff, I feel that it has really improved my writing skills. I learned how to adjust to a new writing style that was very different compared to all the research and informational papers that I had to write for college. I learned how to have fun with my writing in order to grab the audiences' attention and make them want to read my articles.

I learned a lot about myself when reflecting on this experience. My writing skills, as well as my confidence, are continuing to improve. I find stepping outside of my comfort zone to be very different but this internship helped me to see how much good can come out of putting yourself out there. I was able to accomplish so much at this internship and now I know that I have the skills to do a lot in the publishing world.

As I am already experiencing withdrawal from my internship, I definitely realize how lucky I am to experience this opportunity. Now my future looks a lot less complicated as I am considering my career path as an elementary school teacher and a freelance writer on the side. I definitely recommend everyone to go on internships to see what career paths they would consider or ultimately go down. Thank you Hudson Valley Parent!