No matter how many lectures you attend, tests you take, or projects you complete, no college student can entirely understand what life in the “real world” will be like once you step off of a university’s campus. That is why we do summer internships. This is our opportunity to essentially test the waters and discover what we like and dislike about various career paths. We attempt to recall all of the material we have learned in school to use in the workplace. But we quickly realize this is not an accounting test where we must spit out equations. It is not a marketing exam where we must select A, B, C, or D. Instead, summer internships are all about the experience; this is something that simply cannot be replicated in the classroom.
This past spring, I completed my sophomore year at Emory University as a student in the Goizueta Undergraduate Business program. Upon reflection, I realized the classroom topics I found most intriguing were about appealing to and understanding people, whether consumers, businesses, or society in general. After combining my interests in people and business, I began researching Public Relations agencies in San Diego. I came across Mentus, contacted Joleen, and was thankfully offered the opportunity to be a summer intern.
As I began my internship, I was unsure of what to expect. Even working 9-5 was a foreign concept to me. During my first week after arriving home at 6pm I asked my dad, “so when do I have the time to workout?” He laughed and told me “welcome to the real world.” One of the aspects of Mentus that I have most enjoyed is the small, welcoming, and laid-back environment. As a brand new intern I was invited to sit in on meetings. When I was assigned a minor portion of a job, such as emailing press releases, the entire project was explained to me in detail. I learned to build media lists and search through editorial calendars, actions never discussed in class. I watched the scrutiny that visual vocabulary undergoes and saw brilliant ideas suddenly arise from a brainstorm meeting. I was delightfully reminded of my marketing material when positioning statements, target markets, and various frameworks were employed in a “real world” application. I finally witnessed B2B relationships that are constantly spoken of in business classes.
My biggest takeaway from the experience at Mentus is the value of personalized, well thought out plans for each client or potential client in the PR and marketing fields. The Mentus team discusses a client’s company as easily as they would discuss their own; it is clear they have done their research and know the specific needs of that company. The life science industry was a relatively unknown area for me, but at Mentus biotech jargon and current events are spoken of casually. If you want to conduct successful PR for a company, you must first know the ins and outs of its market. I was surprised by the time and energy that is necessary to pitch to a potential client. I quickly realized that in such a competitive environment, diligence created value.
I have been at Mentus for 6 weeks and have already reaffirmed my intuition about the importance of summer internships. Intern experience compliments classroom material. After getting a first hand look at this industry, I definitely have a better understanding of what I do and don’t like, which will inevitably help make my future choices easier. While my summer has made me more excited to go further into this field, I don’t mind being able to put off working from 9-5 for a few more years.
