Public and Professional Writing Program, University of PIttsburgh, December 2008

My expectations for this semester as the PPW intern were to simply gain as much experience as possible with the professional writing. Since communications and writing is my major, and I have no experience with writing in the professional world, I felt that this internship would provide me some great skills.

This internship was especially helpful for me because I am working full time to put myself through school and taking 18 credits this semester, so I needed a very flexible schedule. Working from home and campus were the absolute most important part of this internship. Since my only free time is in the middle of the night, this internship allowed me to complete assignments without having to go to an office or specific location at a specific time.

I wrote intern profiles, planned events, created flyers, went through program websites and recommended changes, and worked on the PPW newsletter.

Pam especially has taught and helped me more than any teacher I have ever had, and I praise her highly for her wonderful help. From this internship, I will take many valuable skills and assets with me. For example, I learned the computer program Indesign, how publicity works, event planning, and got some interviewing experience. I also enjoyed writing the profiles for other interns because it allowed me to hear what other interns have to say about their internships, which will help me choose future jobs and internships. These new skills are much more than I expected to take away from this internship, and I could not have been happier with the experience.