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With the start of a new decade, I knew this was my opportunity to write a new story, upon my May graduation; a story that would hold the pages of my future and I can say with certainty that I never saw 2020 panning out as it has. Some people have felt the ‘fire’ inside of them has begun to burn out; however, my entire life, I have lived by one motto: everything happens for a reason. So, rather than sitting idle, just hoping, waiting, wishing for something to spark excitement for the future, I have decided to spark the ‘fire’ myself. My devotion to communications and journalism hasn’t changed, but the path in which I want to pursue my passion has. 

 

As a freshman, I wanted to dive right into the IMC curriculum so I began taking the introductory courses for IMC. I was often the only freshman amongst a classroom of sophomores and juniors however, unlike most people, this did not ditur me, rather it pushed me to work harder and harder to improve my writing, which taught me early on that I could succeed regardless of the amount of experience I had. 

 

That spring, I took it upon myself to find a summer internship. Although I am organized, detail-oriented, self-motivated, and have excellent verbal and written communication skills, many companies told me that the odds were not in my favor due to my lack of experience at the college level. Despite the odds, I was able to obtain an internship, with Entergy Nuclear in the communications department, which I returned to in the following two summers. I was tasked with creating press releases, infographics, weekly and monthly newsletters, all intern communications, and internal and external feature stories that highlighted employee actions. In my intern experiences, I worked in a team environment with business and marketing professionals, and my enjoyment of creative and professional communication grew. However, what I enjoyed the most was at the end of each of my internships, my team, the fleet interns, and I were both stronger writers, communicators, designers, and leaders. 

 

I was not only the first communications intern that the nuclear fleet had ever had before, but I was also the youngest intern with the least amount of college experience. For some, that would be terrifying, however, it didn’t scare me, rather it lit a fire inside me to learn, grow, and better myself. I learned from my team and peers the ins and outs of corporate communications and in return, I taught my team the latest “tricks and trades” that I learned in the classroom. It was almost like I was the 20-year old teacher of the department and the fleet’s interns. I became the go-to for designing infographics, fleet communications brochures, executive leadership PowerPoint presentations, and ultimately taught my team how to use the latest Adobe platforms. 

 

I feel that up until now, I have accumulated classroom knowledge and internship experiences that have molded me into who I am today, however, my dream is to ‘officially’ find my place in this world come my May 2022 graduation. My goal has always been to present a story unlike any other that resonates with my audience/user and I want to show everyone how I communicate, market, and design in ways that others can’t.