College is full of learning experiences. In most cases, learning is done in the classroom and through assignments and projects, but real-world experience provides learning opportunities that cannot be replicated in a classroom. For Hannah Rady, a senior public relations major and sports marketing and journalism minor, a summer internship at Prolific in Indianapolis provided her the opportunity to apply concepts she has learned in classes throughout her time at Anderson University.
Rady’s position at Prolific, a growth firm that bridges the gap between a marketing firm and a consulting firm, was the project manager for a team of four interns. In that position, she communicated with her client to make sure her team had all the materials needed from them, made sure her team was staying on task and also worked on research and strategy development.
While working at Prolific, Rady said she was able to apply experiences from college classes including Fifth Street Communications, where she gained experience communicating with clients. Communicating with her client through email and in-person at Prolific was less challenging than it might have been otherwise. Another class, Public Relations Campaigns, taught Rady how to research different clients to get an understanding of their needs and to create a public relations plan.
Even though Rady could apply prior knowledge to her internship, there was one important skill that she began to develop. On a team with three other interns, working on a team in a high-stakes environment was a valuable learning experience for her.
“Learning how to work with a team on such a time constraint and having to get all of that done within the realm of an internship was very challenging,” she said when asked about what she learned most from the internship. “So I would say it would be learning how to work with a team in a stressful environment.”
Michael Morehouse is a senior from Mishawaka, Indiana, majoring in public relations and minoring in writing. Michael is an associate with Fifth Street Communications®, a student-run public relations agency at Anderson University.