All internships provide real-world experience and a chance to grow as a professional. Some internships, however, provide a chance for Kent State University students to not only perform “duties as assigned,” but also make a lasting impact on companies who hire them. For Emily Beal, senior visual communication design major and entrepreneurship minor, her experience proved to be the latter.
Beal began an internship at Price Builders & Developers Inc., LLC, a Cleveland construction company in February of 2014. She worked through the spring performing standard design tasks such as creating brochures and organizing product presentations; however, over the summer owner Dave Price challenged her with revamping the company image.
“I sat down with Mr. Price at the end of the school year and asked “What are the three main goals you want your company to portray,” Beal explained. “Mr. Price wanted to be friendly, have a green, sustainability focus and to have his name be prominently strong."
With these three objectives in mind, Beal took PB&D from a friendly, patriotic theme to a look that portrayed the company as environmentally friendly and sustainability based. Recreating the company image wasn’t a scary idea, Beal says. Her Kent State experiences combined with the support from the Price Builders team made Beal eager to dive into the job.
“I was excited to see someone so passionate about his company, and then recognize my talent as a college student that could take this on,” Beal commented. “Mr. Price really gave me free reign; he said he trusted me, and I should go with whatever I felt was best for the company.”
According to Price, Emily has taken on revamping all company marketing materials, redesigning the logo, writing articles for local magazines, recreating the website, and taking company photos among other tasks. Price states he has been pleased with her attitude toward the work.
“Emily is really independent, motivated and driven,” Price says. “We both put ideas down on paper, but she really takes off with them.”
With her major and minor working in tandem, Beal understands the creative steps that need to be taken to take the company image to the next level.
“The VCD program has taught me to be thick skinned and take criticism. In addition to that, my entrepreneurship classes have led me to understand how business works outside of the creative side, so I am able to incorporate my creative mindset to enhance the image of Price Builders,” Beal said.
Beal finds her internship most rewarding because she is treated like a professional. “I am given the opportunity to be a professional, not just a college intern,” Beal explained. “When given an opportunity I am able to take the initiative to exceed expectations and others recognize that.”
Price is proud of what Beal has done so far, and would like to see her continue to grow with the company.
“She’s really great at what she does and I have high hopes for her,” Price said. “I anticipate her being with the company for a long time, hopefully as head of our graphics team.”
Beal continues to work at Price Builders part-time while handling classes. She agrees with Price, saying she would love the opportunity to continue at Price Builders.
“They’ve talked about me working with them after graduating, which would be awesome and ideal,” Beal said. “They’ve been so supportive of me.”