Distance Learning

The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium.

~Norbet Platt

I will not make the argument "I'm just really busy" when I describe how I went about looking for an internship. Because, I feel every college student says it every day, and I'm just sick of hearing that statement. With that said, it seems like I am just really busy. Probably, in the total scheme I'm not, but I like to think I am at least. So I wasn't sure how I was going to fit in an internship this semester without going crazy. I am a journalism major, but wanted to do something along the lines of public relations. My attempts to get an internship over the summer failed miserably, I could not even get an e-mail response. After looking on the job board at PLNU, I applied for a position at Dawson Communications Group. Fortunately, the founder and only full-time employee, Karen Dawson went to Point Loma and was impressed with my resume. However, DCG is in Seattle, Washington area, which is kind of a long commute. But this internship shows how the vast change among the media world.
Over the entire semester, the internship was over e-mail and a few phone calls. I did not need to drive anywhere, log any specific hours or worry about being late. I worked when I wanted, as long as I got projects in before deadline. It might not have been the most intense or normal internship, but it worked out great. Karen has a great job, where she can work for companies she has a passion for. She focuses on parenting/family products and green tech companies for the most part. It opened my eyes that work doesn't have to fall into certain parameters, you can do what like in the medium you want. The rules are starting to change. Media is going digital, smaller companies are becoming favored and the environment matters. These might be scary times for the economy, but I also think they are good times. People are learning that consuming less does not mean sacrificing a satisfying lifestyle. My internship made me realize with good writing skills and networking, the public relations field can be highly demanding but very rewarding. For example, getting a small, start-up company into a major magazine is an exciting thing to do. It might require getting a lot of rejections, but it would not be as fun if it was easy.