So as I mentioned, I study at the University of Canberra. My experiences at uni have been amazing, I have loved my time there (unlike school). Probably because I was choosing to be there to study, whereas being at school was compulsorary. UC is well-known for having a very practical, hands-on approach to learning. I have done 3 different internships during my time at uni, 1 of them a couple of years ago for an event management class, the other two this year as communication internships for PR.
These internships have given me great experience in working in the industry. They have also been very diverse which is what I wanted (to get a taste of different industries). The first one was in the private sector, working as an event coordinator for a major sports team in Canberra (which I now work for). My job here is to run certain events, manage the timing of the official proceedings, take care of guest speakers and players and generally just be a point of contact for the guests to help out with any complaints or enquiries. The amount of knowledge I have gained from this job has been amazing. Not only knowledge about working in event management, but experience in engaging with the general public; learning how to communicate efficiently and effectively. Time management skills are important when working with events. This is something that I have always considered to be a strength of mine, but working in event management has helped me develop those skills even further. Working with people and communicating with people has always been my passion (ever since I was a little girl) which is why I decided to study PR. I believe if you love doing something and it comes very naturally to you, you need to utilise those skills by doing something you love! I love going to this job and would happily still work their as an unpaid intern any day of the week.
The second internship was in the public health sector, at a health department in Canberra. I was based in the Communications, Media and Marketing Unit. The team consisted of 5, but the department consisted of 400 employees (still a very small department for a government department). As I showed interest for both PR and event management I was doing a bit of everything. I looked into a new event management system for the organisation, did several test runs and pitched it to the head of the unit, who would then take it higher. I also took over their social media accounts. I used their different Twitter accounts to promote new launches of their new reports. I also used Twitter to promote their new app they had recently developed. I also wrote a media release which was published last month. Working with the department was a great experience, as it showed me how different it is compared to working in the private sector. After this internship, as enjoyable as it was, I decided that my personality suits the private sector more than the public sector. I discovered some more of my strengths and weaknesses working at this internship. I discovered that I like the pressure of deadlines and working towards something in a fast pace environment. I like been given almost too much responsibility (been thrown in the deep-end) as this is how I learn best.
The third internship, which I am currently working at is back in the private sector. It is similar to the role I was working in the government department, but in a much smaller private business. My role is working on different projects and communicating with different businesses. I have only just started so can’t go into too much depth about my experiences, but I will update this once I have!
Aside from all of these experiences, I have also really enjoyed uni for the academic side. I have been at my most motivated working to achieve consistently high grades. I feel that I have learn’t so much over the last few years, which will stay with me throughout my profession. UC sets you up to know how to act in a professional environment. The two main course convenor’s in the PR course are amazing beyond words. They do everything they can to prepare you for every situation once you leave uni, I now feel ready to graduate!!!
Sarah Reid 