MPH Transformations LLC Digital Media Internship Experience
My name is Kathleen Laura McDermott and I was hired at MPH Transformations as the digital media intern for the Spring ’21 semester. MPH Transformations is a startup company that has three different branches: Meditation, Media Consulting, and Mentoring. When I was hired as their intern, I was told that I was going to have to do several tasks for the company that was, in all honesty, completely out of my skillset. I’m in the Media Planning track in Advertising so things such as web design, copywriting, Photoshop, etc. were completely foreign to me before starting this internship. However, I decided to rise to the challenge and really push myself to exceed in the internship instead of going for something that was a bit more comfortable for me.
Over the course of 15 weeks, I designed and created an entire website, business cards, event flyers, logos, letterheads, and more. I also had the opportunity to do a presentation on Google Analytics to a team at Orion Worldwide LLC.
This internship was not easy. There were several points throughout where I felt like I had gotten in way over my head and was very mad at myself for accepting a position of something that I did not know how to do. However, each time I felt this way I ended up finding a solution and figuring things out. I can now say that I have created an entire website, amongst many other things, which is not something that I thought I would ever be able to say. I have many takeaways from this experience that are centered purely around learning new skills and how important that is, but I think I have learned a much bigger lesson from my time at MPH Transformations. I have learned how to not freak out and shut down when something isn’t making sense or working out the way you would like. When I receive my first full-time job, I will be in an entry-level position. This means there will probably be something every single day that I do not know how to do. The thought of finally starting a full-time job always horrified me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I would show up on my first day and not know how to do a single thing that anybody is asking of me. I no longer have that fear because I know that these kinds of positions are here to teach you and help you grow. Nobody expects you to be an expert in something just because you have a degree in it. I can thank this internship for that.
As I reflect on my time here, I am very grateful that I took the risk and accepted the position. When it comes to my next steps in life, will I be accepting a full-time job offer that is centered around something I have never done before and have no prior experience in? Probably not. But this internship has taught me so much and I am eternally grateful for the unique and inspiring experience that I was granted during my time here.
