Lessons Learned From Being An Intern

Internships are designed so that the interns have a better idea of what they are getting into before they are actually thrown out into the real world. After a summer of interning, I couldn't be happier that I decided to!

I learned so much as an intern, more than any textbook or professor could have taught me. And in honor of it being my last day as an intern here, I think it's necessary to share some of what I've learned this summer!

As an intern at a radio station, I learned a lot about how the radio business works and I find it fascinating. From the music that is played to the advertisements on air, there is so much work going into making the station great for the listeners. I learned all about making voice tracks for advertisements, how the songs are selected to play and even got to see how phone-in contests work (let me just tell you, it's crazy to see all those calls come in!).

Plus, in-studio concerts are so much cooler than actual concerts. The artists are less concerned about putting on a huge show and more concerned about connecting with the fans that are there -- it's pretty cool, that's one of the big things that I'm going to miss.

Ironically, I have no intention of going into the radio business, though. As a public relations major, I was much more interested in the article writing, social media usage and community outreach areas of the station. I can know say that I know how to update websites that aren't social media, I can write articles and post them online faster than I ever imagined and I am no longer intimidated by posting things on social media that thousands of people will see! Also, news travels like a raging wildfire -- I am not exaggerating at all. It's almost like a race when news breaks to get articles up online have it on air before other people do!

Many people talk about how interns always end up doing busy work or running errands for their bosses all the time, but luckily for me, I had the greatest boss and co-workers ever, so I escaped the typical intern work (usually). I was only sent to go buy food/coffee once - if I remember correctly - and it wasn't on my credit card, so I really can't complain about that! On a serious note, the people I worked with all summer made me love this internship and I never once dreaded waking up to come to work. If I can ever find a job where the people are this great, I know it'll be worth taking.

I always swore I would never come back home and work once I went off to college, but coming home for the summer has been better than I could have ever imagined. If I hadn't come back to Tyler and found this internship, I wouldn't feel nearly as prepared for my future as I do now. I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity I've had here to learn, even if Tyler wasn't where I wanted to spend my summer.

On a lighter note, I also checked some really fun things off of my bucket list! I have ridden in a radio van (and gotten all the funny looks from people in cars), I went to the shooting range FOR WORK (this was not just an afternoon off kind of thing, I promise), I met a few Texas country artists, went to concerts with friends and co-workers and I got the biggest office in the whole building (okay, it's the conference room, but it's still awesome)! Plus, I have so many great memories of regular days at the office too!

I can't thank everyone who has been a part of my internship enough for what they've taught me and I very seriously intend to come back and visit everyone when I get a break from school and make it back to Texas. Until then, I hope all of them can pretend to have as much fun as they've had all summer with me here!