Best Internship Ever!

If you read the title of this post you probably already understand how much I am about to talk about just how amazing my internship at Radio One Atlanta was... Ready? (I'll try to make the flow of this post as easy to follow as possible)

Okay, so my internship actually ended like 3 weeks ago, but in typical fashion I'm just now making this blog post. Better late than never, right? Now I've only had one internship (this one) so I don't have another internship to compare it with, but for now it's by far the best internship I've ever had!

Stepping out of the elevator into the lobby of Radio One Atlanta, I had no idea what to expect on my first day. I didn’t know whether I’d get along with the other interns (ha!), whether I’d actually get to have hands on experience, etc. I’m happy to say that this internship has exceeded every last one of my expectations. My experience has been amazing and a true learning experience. Everyone there was so willing to give us advice and knowledge that we need. They were more than willing to answer any and all questions that we had as long as they saw that we were interested in learning from them.  

The stereotypical role of an intern is: getting coffee, getting lunch, running "dummy missions", etc. Well, my internship was everything but that. The amount of hands on experience and knowledge that I gained from the people that took their time to talk to me and the other interns was so much more than I could have ever expected. And let me tell you, I had the pleasure of meeting some pretty awesome people! 

My first blog post about my internship was at the very beginning of my internship. The biggest event was taking place... Birthday Bash. Like I said in my previous post, it was the busiest and most tired I think I've ever been in my entire life. What I didn't say in that post was how I got to see how much goes into making sure these big events are organized and run smoothly. So much goes on behind stage and I saw how 1) it's important that everyone is effectively communicating with each other 2) keeping things organized and 3) maintaining a good attitude through it all. With it being my first Birthday Bash I've ever attended, overall it was a great experience. I loved it! 

Since I'm on the topic of events, the next big event that took place while I was there was Praise in the Park. Unlike Birthday Bash, I was there to see Praise in the Park being "put together" from start to finish. I think the same goes for Praise in the Park in regards to what I learned, i.e. the event being organized and running smoothly. Just like Birthday Bash, this was also my very first time attending Praise in the Park and I absolutely loved it. One memory that I will be able to hold on to forever from Praise in the Park was this guy... He rushed up to the table where we were checking in vendors and was very eager to know whether or not it was a ticketed event, it wasn't. You could hear the excitement in his voice and see it in his eyes! While working the sound board on the side of the stage, I looked down into the crowd and saw the same guy in the very front row on his feet worshipping his heart out. That touched me so much and I'll never forget it. Moving on...

As I said, the hands on experience that I got from this internship was so great. I was able to go into different departments each day: sales, digital, productions, traffic, promotions and the studio with a personality. I was able to see every facet of the station. With every department that I got to go to each day, I learned something from each person that I shadowed, both knowledge about working in radio and also awesome life advice as I continue my college journey. Everyone was more than willing to teach me as long as I was willing to learn, which I most definitely was. I also got to sit in on the big meetings at the office, and even though we were interns they were willing to hear our ideas while sitting in on the meetings and I loved that. From the meetings, to editing spots, to putting in a sales order, to helping with meet & greets... and well I could go on and on. Like I said, the hands on experience was awesome! 

I knew that walking away from this internship that I’d truly be able to apply what I learned in my life whether it be in or out of the work field. I’ve learned the importance of networking, creating and building up my own brand, organization, how events run (the whole process), how important it is to be multi-dimensional, what/what not to do, developing interpersonal relationships with the people you network with and so much more!

From day one of my internship, they made me and the interns feel like family and that's something I'll take with me forever. The group of interns that I met on day 1 became so much more than that, they're really great friends and I couldn't have asked for a better group of amazing young ladies to experience this with. 

This internship has been such a blessing and I could sit here and go on and on about it. Just know that it was indeed... the best internship ever!

If you've ever had an internship, how was it? Tell me about it.