At Grand Valley State University, students are required to fulfill a range of requirements to complete their major, and one of these requirements is to complete an internship. As a soon-to-be graduate earning my degree in Advertising and Public Relations, I needed to work a minimum of 150 internship hours. Since I started at Talent 2025 as the Marketing and Communications Intern, I have been able to accumulate around 350 hours of valuable experience.
As graduation gets closer and closer, here are three things I have taken away from my internship opportunity:
Progressive learning happens inside and outside of the classroom.
Many of my classes have taught me what is going on in the workforce, specifically when they include projects based on the concepts, definitions, and tools the professionals use. All of this has given me the background knowledge I need to be successful. However, I have found that the hands-on experience of real-world projects has solidified my knowledge and given me a better understanding for the inner workings of the professional world.
Constructive criticism is gold.
Although college interns are typically a work in progress and often walk in the door with little to no experience in a professional setting, internships are a great way to test your knowledge, learn from mistakes, and learn how to grow. When employers give constructive criticism, it not only helps the company achieve their mission, but it helps the intern grow as a professional and gain a greater sense of confidence.
Internships are a good way to find your interests.
During classroom time, it is easy to learn about a specific career path and think that is what I want to do with my future, without ever having experienced that line of work. Internships allow for the opportunity to experience those daily activities and find if they truly fit the career path the intern sees themselves on. Throughout my time at Talent 2025, I found a new interest that has positively changed the direction of my career path.
Though internships can be tough at times (juggling school and work is no small task), it is the most rewarding educational experience I have had during my time at Grand Valley State University. This internship opportunity has helped me develop a new level of professionalism and confidence that I would not have with only classroom learning.
