Rolling with the PUNCHes at my First Internship
This semester I began my very first internship at PUNCH Media, a very small PR company based in the Mount Airy section of Northwest Philadelphia. It is owned and run by James Zeleniak and Alicia Crawford-Zeleniak, both of whom are Temple alums. PUNCH is food and beverage centric with clients such as South Philly Bar & Grill, McCrossen’s Tavern and MilkBoy, but also represent others, such as the Shops at Liberty Place.
As an Ad major in the Copy Writing track, my intention was to find something within the field of advertising; however, all things led me to a PR internship at Image Unlimited Communications. When that fell through, a twist of fate landed me at PUNCH. To be quite honest I wasn’t too interested in the world of PR. I knew nothing about it. I also didn’t know if I would be any good at it or if I could gain anything from it. And what makes my internship at this particular company all the more daunting is my picky eating.
My boss laughed when he first found out how ridiculous my eating habits are and found it amusing that I chose to intern at a food and beverage centric company. I suppose that does sound pretty ridiculous. But since coming to PUNCH, I have tried more new things in the past two months than I have in the past two years. As time progresses I’m learning more about PR than I ever knew there was to know. The more I learn, the more responsibilities and assignments I receive. So far I have to say I’m really enjoying my work.
While I like stepping outside of my comfort zone, sometimes I just need that extra push. Now the lesson I’m learning through each new food, and this experience in general, is that you never really know until you try. So by rolling with the punches, I’ve found myself outside my comfort zone but totally in my element at PUNCH Media.
boxer Johnny “The Polish Cyclone” Pigeon
I have had a similar experience interning at Wired 96.5 this semester. I am also in the copy track, so obviously, broadcast communications was a whole new world for me. Being outside your element, you really get to push yourself, learn a lot, and achieve even more. In the end, there were lots of lessons to be learned that will definitely be useful down the road, whatever your career path may be.
That’s so great that you’re interning at a company that works with local businesses! I feel that makes for more special ad work with more local personality. It’s also pretty cool that PUNCH is owned by Temple Alums- it’s inspiring to all of us current TU students.