Internship Spotlights

Through her internship with Sen. Nickie Antonio, Mia Barnes, ’22, assisted with digital and hands-on tasks. She says her COMM coursework and other leadership experiences prepared her — and upon her Summer 2022 graduation, the internship turned into a job as campaign manager for Sen. Antonio’s re-election campaign.

While interning with Summa Health, communication studies student Natalie Timmerman, ’23, is able to help others through effective communication.

Jo Wilson, ’22, is gaining important experience working in library databases and catalogs at their internship with the Kent State Library’s digital projects during summer 2022. Wilson has been accepted into the M.L.I.S. program at the Kent State School of Information and will begin graduate school in Fall 2022. After that, they hope to work in a library, specifically in making online catalogs more user friendly.

Through her internship with the Portage County Regional Planning Commission, Grace Petitjean has learned just how essential communication skills are in the workplace. She says: “It is so important to be able to hold conversations, stand up in front of crowds, and speak confidently." Grace has been working on online and social media presences for Celebrate Portage!, a series of events.

Miracle Walker learned through her internship with Canton City Schools/Canton YWCA that "storytelling is what I was put on this earth to do." She created a promotional video for the YWCA and said: "Following a career in digital media production allowed me to give voice to the voiceless and bring awareness. We’re living in a digital age, and any way I can create awareness of a cause, that’s where my heart is."

As an intern with Heritage Valley Health System, Lindsey Vlasic has been working to keep the public informed about the Pennsylvania hospital’s physicians. Her public relations classes have prepared her well for this work; she says: “Working in my current professional environment is not much different than the work I have done in my classes."

Interning with Drink Local. Drink Tap. Inc. — an international non-profit dedicated to solving water equality and quality issues — has solidified Jo Levin’s interest in working in digital communications and social media strategy for a non-profit after she graduates. “I enjoy empowering small non-profits with tight budgets to prioritize their digital voice and appearance in an effort to achieve their mission,” she says. 

For his summer 2021 internship, Alec Guy worked on social media and newsletter content creation and editing for the non-profit Prevention Action Alliance. The experience has given him insight into how a professional organization works day-to-day: the fast pace, the deadlines and beyond. Courses like My Story on the Web, Foundations of COMM and visual design classes prepared him to succeed in this internship, and he’s enjoyed the experience.