Bao Thai’s Marketing Experience at The Original Muck Boot Company

Name: Bao Thai

Major/Minor: Marketing/Chinese

Company Interned For: Honeywell Safety Products (The Original Muck Boot Company)

Hometown: Gorham, Maine

 

AC: What was your favorite part about your internship?

BT: They sent me to Vegas on their behalf last summer-that was definitely my favorite part.  I manned our booth at a trade show where retailers came and placed their product orders.  It was a lot of fun and I met a lot of great people.

AC: Which courses at Bryant would you say prepared you the most for this internship?

BT: I would say my Management201 class mostly because I was able to see many concepts in action.  It was cool to see how extensive the supply chain can be no matter what the product is you are selling.  I was able to see on a first-hand basis all the steps of producers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, etc. who worked with our products to get them in the hands of the consumer.  This type of information was learned through my Management201 course (Operations Mangement).

AC: How did you learn about your internship?

BT: The Amica Center advised me to go onto the BCC to check internship positions that were available.  Once I did that, I applied.  After that, I kept in contact with the recruiters and eventually was offered the position.

AC: What were some challenges you faced in your internship and how did you overcome them?

BT:  I was lucky enough to not have any bad experiences while interning.  I would say a challenge I faced though was time management.  I did not have as much free time as I thought I would or as I was used to.  This took a lot of adjusting and getting my priorities in line.  By the end, I am used to the schedule.  Facing the challenge of time management and overcoming it has been beneficial towards my other obligations outside of my internship like school too.

AC: Any advice for underclassmen who are majoring in marketing?

BT: Stand Out! Employers see the same black and white resume every day-it’s all about making yourself memorable, and a high Klout score wouldn’t hurt either.  Market and brand yourself so employers aren’t just looking to fill a position but they’re begging you to take a job with them.

The Rhode Show’s Intern – Nicole Barrett

Name: Nicole Barrett

Major: Communication

Company Interned For: WPRI- The Rhode Show

Hometown: Falmouth, MA

AC: How did you hear about this internship?

NB: The Comm department emailed all their students in their classes about the internship and the first students to respond were given the opportunity!  The Amica Center helped me fill out forms for the internship to receive academic credit and also helped me to connect with WPRI on different levels.  I don’t think I would have gotten everything done that needed to be completed without Amica.

AC: What was your position at the company and what were your hours?

NB: I work 7am-12pm on Wednesdays and Fridays and I am a Rhode Show Intern.

AC: How were you able to balance both your school work and your internship at the same time?

NB: It was very hard to do because of the early hours but I made sure I delegated time for my school work and tried to go to bed at a reasonable time so I was not exhausted.  Once I got the hang of it, waking up at 5:30am was not so bad but I definitely always looked forward to sleeping in on the weekends.  My class schedule was also unintentionally planned perfectly so everything fell into place.

AC: What were your day-to-day duties as an intern?

NB: There was a meeting every day at 7am that I sat in on about the breakdown of the show that day, about the guests we were having, what cameras were needed, and what the talent would be discussing.  Then I would distribute a list of the guests to the front desk and have a copy in back. I would turn on the studio lights and monitors, make sure the set and the kitchen were ready, empty the dishwasher, as well as make coffee…typical intern duties. I would put the times of the cooking hits for the chefs to use and then greet and take care of the guests who came on. I had to make sure they signed a release form and were given a gift.  My day usually ended with cleaning the set and logging. I would watch interviews the talent conducted and type out what the guests said for the hosts to use in their own segments later on.

AC: What is your favorite memory?

NB: My favorite memory was surprisingly when The Rhode Show was cancelled. When the Boston bomber suspects were being chased after, the news room was insane! They had cancelled the show in order for the news to continue and everyone was surrounding the TV with the volume all the way up. Producers were yelling across the newsroom and people were running in and out of the set. It was very interesting to see how they dealt with breaking news.  So although I was unable to do my normal duties, it was awesome experience being thrown into something unexpected and will be something I remember forever.

AC: Any advice for other communication majors?

NB: An internship is a great way to figure out what you might want to do or what you might not want to do. Any experience is good experience so don’t pass up any opportunities!

Christine Romano’s Guidance Department Internship

Name: Christine Romano

Major: Applied Psychology (Minors: Business Administration & Sociology)

Company Interned For: Smithfield High School Guidance Counseling Department (I have also had 2 prior internships)

Hometown: Bronxville, New York

AC: What was your favorite aspect of your internship?  How do you think this internship differed from working in a typical business like a store or services firm?

CR: My favorite aspect of my internship was working with the people, mostly students.  I loved being a resource and helping anyone with any problems or concerns they had.  This internship differs from a typical business scene because it is something I am interested in while pursuing my career as a professional counselor.  It is also different because I was not working full time or for pay so I was able to enjoy my experiences and learn many useful skills I will take with me for the rest of my life.

AC: What were your day-to-day duties as an intern?

CR: Sometimes I did usual office duties such as assisting my supervisor with anything she needed.  However, a good portion of my time was spent shadowing the guidance counselors and observing meetings between them and students, parents, or administrative staff members.  Another good portion of my time was spent advising students with college planning as well as post-graduate planning.  I became a resource for the students assisting them with personal challenges like academic struggles, family issues, financial difficulties, and peer-to-peer problems.

AC: What did you learn in your internship and what challenges did you overcome through these learning experiences?

CR: Even though I only worked one semester, I learned so much about the professional workplace but also about myself.  Something very important I learned is that guidance counseling is a very essential department within a school.  They organize many events and activities that benefit students and they are there to help students with a variety of issues school related and non-school related.  I have learned a lot about the college process because I have worked with many of the students one-on-one to research schools, write essays, create resumes, and even fill out applications.  I learned how to set up college visits and I even got to observe a few of them.  I also learned about programs within the school like individual learning plans, alternative learning plans, the response to intervention program, infinite campus, PSATs, grant writing, and even the truancy system and I had the opportunity to observe a truancy court case.

About myself, I learned that I am a hard worker, I learn quickly, I am confident, I am empathetic, and I am a great listener.  More importantly, I realized I love working with people and relate well to others which will help me in the future when I get a counseling job.  Furthermore, something I learned while working in guidance counseling is that many students at the high school or even middle school age have a lot of issues in their life that truly shape how they are as a person.  I never realized how many families were facing unfortunate situations and how many kids were being diagnosed with learning disabilities and psychological disorders.  From this, I learned you must listen to every student carefully when they speak, have an open mind about what they say, and also be empathetic and understanding because every student is different in their own way.

Some challenges I faced was working in a new setting and working with high school students.

AC: How did you find this internship? 

CR: I had met with Amica for advice about internships and my career plans.  Their advice guided me to find my internsips.  I found my internship at Smithfield High School while attending an internship panel during the spring of my junior year where I heard seniors speak about their internship experiences.  I learned that one girl did this internship before me and she did not particularly enjoy it but I went for it anyway.  I found my internship supervisor’s email, emailed her during the summer, and she immediately responded eager to let me start.  We kept in touch throughout the summer and I started in September of my senior year.

AC: Which classes at Bryant would you say helped you to be a successful intern?

CR: Counseling Theory & Practice and Senior Internship Seminar Psychology class.

AC: What would be your advice to any undergraduate looking in your field of study?

CR: Start researching early to find your interests and get experience!  Also, communicate with people (students, professors, advisors, professionals etc.) to get insight and learn about others’ opinions and their journeys, you never know what kind of connections you can make and what opportunities it can lead to.  Have an open mind, be open to new experiences and ask a lot of questions because that is how you will learn.  Most importantly, make sure to treat everyone with respect because people will be more likely to help you and listen to you if you are respectful to yourself and others.  Finally, believe in yourself and aim for your dreams.  Don’t ever be discouraged or let ANYONE tell you that you cannot do what you want to do or be who you want to be.

Lauren Howson’s Intern Experience

Name: Lauren Howson

Major: Applied Psychology

Company Interned For: Harvard Vanguard, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Hometown: Bedford, NH

AC: What was your favorite aspect of your internship?  What made your internship unique?

LH: I loved being able to observe the appointments the child had with the pediatrician. As the semester went on, I became more familiar with the diagnostic material she would use and be able to diagnose the child myself. I liked that I was able to see the different ways disorders present themselves, opposed to the textbook view you receive in a classroom. I think my internship was unique because I could see the child improve as therapy took place and I saw several different angles of the diagnostic process.

AC: What were your day-to-day duties as an intern?

LH: My department had a lot of paperwork to manage, so some of my time was spent doing administrative work. I became very familiar with different diagnostic tests and their scoring. I would observe meetings with my supervisor who was a social worker and  diagnostic appointments with the pediatrician. I also had a few ongoing projects such as creating a database of the educational standards in Massachusetts.

AC: What did you learn in your internship and what challenges did you overcome through these learning experiences?

LH: My knowledge of psychology broadened greatly from my internship. You can only learn so much from a course and my internship filled in a lot of aspects. The internship was not as hands-on as I would have liked it to be, but I learned fundamentals that will be very valuable to me in the future.

AC: How did you find this internship?

LH: I found this internship through a friend. Her mother works at Harvard Vanguard and put me in touch with this department. I was the first intern they had, and lucky to have gotten this opportunity.

AC: Which classes at Bryant would you say helped you to be a successful intern?

LH: This internship was heavily associated with abnormal psychology, so that course was essential for my internship because it provided me with some prior knowledge about the disorders. I worked with excel as well, so CIS was helpful.

AC: What would be your advice to any undergraduate looking in your field of study?

LH: Start looking early. This is important for any kind of internship. Especially if you have a certain one in mind, start inquiring early and be persistent. Specifically for psychology, you have to be proactive about finding internships. There are a lot of different options but you just have to be dedicated and look for them.

Farrell’s Friend’s Way Psychology Internship

Name: Farrell Murphy

Major: Applied Psychology

Organization Interned For: Friend’s Way (Non-Profit Organization)

Hometown: Winchester, MA

AC: What was your favorite aspect of your internship?  What made your internship unique?

FM: My favorite aspect of my internship would definitely be helping children work through their death loss by facilitating group discussions.  Although most individuals can never truly get over the death of a loved one, many are able to find ways to cope with the social, emotional, and physical issues the come along with the loss.  At my internship, I was able to help kids from ages 3-18 use many of these coping mechanisms in hope to find some relief from the burden of bereavement.   I was able to lead group discussions and activities that encouraged children to talk about their loss in a supportive and friendly setting.  Having the ability to watch the children gain support from the peers in their group and make progress along their bereavement journey is very rewarding for me.  Although hearing each child’s story can be truly heartbreaking, knowing that you have the power to possibly make a difference in their lives is a great feeling.

I feel as though my internship was unique because I was able to take the lead as a facilitator of my own group of children. I was placed into the pre-teen group of 10-13 year olds, which was a very good fit.  I was able to quickly take a leadership position in the group and build a trusting relationship with both the children and the other facilitator.  I feel that at if I were in a different position I would not have had the opportunity to take on such an important role with so much responsibility.

AC: What were your day-to-day duties as an intern? 

FM: I did about 10-12 hours of work per week at Friend’s Way.  This was split up between a 4 hour group session once a week during which I would meet with the team of facilitators and discuss any new or current cases, prepare and facilitate a group of middle school aged children in their discussions about their loss, and then do a post-group meeting with the team to sum up the night.  I also came into the office for an additional 3-4 hours, once a week, to help my supervisor prepare for the upcoming group nights.  I would read through books, look up articles, prepare for crafts, and brainstorm ideas for group meetings.  The remainder of my internship hours were spent at home researching for future meetings, creating article databases for my supervisor, and watching videos he provided me in order to gain further insight on the topic of child bereavement.

AC: What did you learn in your internship and what challenges did you overcome through these learning experiences?

FM: One of the most important lessons I learned from my internship was the importance of sensitivity and support. I am interested in a career in the field of psychology where I will be able to work with individuals who struggle with a variety of mental and emotional problems.  This was and is an important realization for my future career.  At first, I did not know how to react to the children’s stories and commentary.  However, over time I learned that the best way to help them is to listen and respond with sensitivity to their issues.  Many of these children feel comforted in the fact that they have somebody who they can rely on to listen to what they have to say without judging them or making their problem feel unimportant.  I’d say that the true challenge of my position was learning to cope with the stress that comes from the burden of these children’s stories, as well as leaving my own problems at home when I stepped through the door.

AC: How did you find this internship?

FM: I found the internship through researching facilities in Rhode Island.  There is a website that links all counseling and support programs in the state of Rhode Island.  I  emailed and sent resumes to many of these programs.  Friend’s Way got back to me pretty quickly and it ended up being the right fit.  I was my supervisor’s first intern, so I somewhat created the position myself.  He is now hoping to fill it again with a student in the coming fall.

AC: Which classes at Bryant would you say helped you to be a successful intern?

FM: Many of my psychology classes gave me the knowledge I needed to understand the process of bereavement and facilitating group sessions.  (Applied Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Health Psychology, Social Psychology etc.)  In addition, Management and Business classes may have helped with the way I presented myself, my work ethic, etc.

AC: What would be your advice to any undergraduate studying psychology?

FM: If there is an undergraduate interested in psychology, I would tell them to really think about what aspects of the field they are attracted to.  Psychology is a very broad field with many different career paths spanning from clinical counseling to human resources management.  It is important to zero in on what interests you the most, and focus your efforts on finding an internship or a job that may lead you in the right direction towards success in something you really want to do.

Sara’s Internship as a Public Affairs Assistant

Name: Sara Larrabee

Major: Communication

Company Interned For: Rhode Island Department of Transportation – Public Affairs Assistant

Hometown: Cranston, RI

AC: What was your favorite aspect of your internship?

SL: My favorite aspect of my internship with RIDOT was getting to make roads and bridges sexy through the use of Public Relations…I’m serious! How can you make use of social media to interest the population in Rhode Island to pay attention to construction projects, grants, and work zone safety? I did it by using Pinterest and pictures in press releases to grab Rhode Island residents’ and drivers’ attention.

I also enjoyed learning about governmental public relations which is an extremely difficult area of the industry to get started in. Working for a state department was one of the most unique experiences I have on my resume to date.

AC: What were your day-to-day duties as an intern?

SL: As an intern, I was in charge of keeping track of the media coverage RIDOT would receive with every press release as well as keeping track of fatalities, accidents, and other highway and roadway news stories. I would accompany the directors of our office on media interviews with the local television and newspaper outlets – which was very interesting for me since prior to being at RIDOT, I had interned at the WPRI-12 TV station. I was also tasked with a summer-long video project to highlight RI’s new initiative to cut the number of roadway fatalities in half by the year 2030. The initiative was a part of the new RI Highway and Safety Plan for 2013 and I worked with a video consulting group in Boston to actually conduct the “man-on-the-street” interviews in Providence and put together the final video. That video is actually being used in commercials and other marketing promotions for the new statewide plan!

AC:  What did you learn in your internship and what challenges did you overcome through these learning experiences?

SL: I was able to experience what a typical “9-to-5” schedule was like for a whole summer and how to keep myself busy all day. Time management both long-term and short-term, as well as creating individual tasks to work on, was crucial to having a successful summer. I also learned to not be afraid to ask questions – it is so easy for Rhode Islanders, or any member of a community, to blame organizations like the government or the department of transportation for bad road conditions and not enough money to complete projects in a timely manner. When those types of comments are posted on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger, we as a team have to be able to respond to those users as soon as possible. We always had to make sure a response was correct and check with my boss or the engineers out in the field. It is extremely important to getting the right information to the general public.

AC: How did you find this internship?

SL: I had actually applied for this internship after completing my freshmen year because of an ad the department had placed in a local newspaper and online. I was accepted to the program, but decided that I wasn’t ready to get the most out of the position and wanted to wait until I had a few more years at Bryant under my belt. Come to find out, the Director of Public Affairs for RIDOT, Dana Nolfe, is an adjunct Public Relations Professor here at Bryant! I enrolled in both her classes my Junior year, Basic PR in the Fall and Advanced PR in the Spring, and was able to reapply for this internship for the summer leading into my senior year. I was accepted into the program, again, and had a blast all summer.  It was also paid!

AC: Which classes at Bryant would you say helped you to be a successful intern

SL: Obviously the Public Relations classes I was able to take before starting this summer internship was extremely helpful in getting down the basic terms and principles to practicing good PR. The background I had in video production, based off of my training through the Koffler Communication Complex, was also instrumental in my role to produce the “Towards Zero Deaths” video talked about earlier. As with all the other internships I have had in 4 years, the business classes I did take helped me to understand the dynamics of working in different organizational structures, such as a the state department.

AC: What would be your advice to any undergraduate looking in the communications field?

SL: Network, network, network! Get involved on LinkedIn and search for professionals who have interesting or comparable backgrounds to what you are interested in. Take advantage of the Amica Center’s “Job Shadowing” program that occurs over every Winter Break because it is an awesome way to get your foot in the “real-world” just for a day and to make some great industry contacts. Put your skills to the test on campus…we have a great School of Communication here at Bryant and many clubs such as the Media Production Club, WJMF, the Archway, the Ledger, the Communication Society, and others that will allow you to connect with faculty and alumni to figure out in 4 years which direction your career will take. Lastly, enjoy your 4 years here! Everyone will say time flies by…but it really truly does and you will be walking that graduation stage before you know it.

Tara’s Internship Abroad at 4C Comunicación

Interning in Spain definitely had it’s benefits-lots of site seeing!

Name: Tara Hersey

Major: International Business, Concentration Marketing & Spanish

Company Interned For: 4C Comunicación

Hometown: Norwood, MA but my internship was in Salamanca, Spain!

AC: What was your favorite aspect of your internship?

TH: The best part of my internship was working with incredible employees that were patient, welcoming, and gave me an entirely new perspective on conducting business.

AC:What were your day-to-day duties as an intern?  How do you think they were different than interning for a company in The United States?

TH: Throughout my internship experience, I worked on creating a marketing plan for launching new websites for different companies and purposes. This included a lot of researching, active brainstorming with other employers, and innovative thinking for reaching new target markets and discovering alternative advertising methods. In comparison to a company in the United States, the business culture was entirely different in Spain and the focus of the business depended a lot more on the people doing the work, than on the actual work. The employers of 4C Comunicación were a family. Part of what has made the company so successful, is their ability to work well together and with the customers.

AC: What did you learn from your internship?

My desk at the office

TH: I learned how to express myself and my ideas in new ways, as well as listen and learn from everything and everyone. I gained a hands on experience that opened my mind to a whole new culture and way of doing business.

AC: Which classes, or projects, have you been a part of here at Bryant that you would say helped you during this internship?

TH: First and foremost, my Spanish classes! None of my employees spoke any English so I needed to become outgoing and confident in my Spanish speaking abilities really quickly to be able to adapt to the culture and work environment. Besides that, each and every IB class prepared me in some way for my internship, especially the projects from each class that gave me the ability to communicate my ideas in a clear, precise manner to an audience. A lot of my time spent at 4C Comunicación involved sharing and presenting my work in front of other employees, and thanks to the constant presentations in my Bryant classes, I was able to do that easily and effectively.

Getting my certificate for officially interning for a business overseas

AC: What advice would you give other IB majors, specifically underclassmen?

TH: At some point you will be out of your comfort zone, and there’s nothing to do but embrace it. Speak as much and as often as possible, ask questions about everything, and learn as much as you can because there is so much to be taken away. As for your time at Bryant and not abroad, find a way to motivate yourself and do it. Study abroad is 110% worth all the late nights and studying you’re doing in the meantime!