Each year, the last Thursday of July is recognized as National Intern Day. The holiday was created by WayUp in 2017 to recognize and celebrate the contributions of interns across the country.

As interns at SCG, we’re celebrating the only way we know how, by writing! We wanted to share some insight into life as interns and a bit about each of our experiences.

Gina-Marie

As a recent college graduate, I’ve realized how important internships are in helping you figure out your future career path. There’s no better way to learn than by being in the environment, doing real work, and seeing what the job actually looks like. During college, I made it a point to try different types of roles across the communications and PR space.

I believe that trying new things early on is a great way to discover what you’re passionate about, and just as importantly, what you’re not. My major was in public relations, but now I’m interning at SCG in marketing—something totally new for me. I’m here to say, you may not know what you like until you try it. What I love about SCG is that I’ve been able to explore different areas, help out other teams, and see how all the pieces come together.

Calli

Throughout my time in school, I’ve lacked confidence about what I want to do. Jumping from major to major, experimenting with professions, each one completely different from the last. That’s where the beauty of an internship comes in. Interning gives students like me the opportunity to experience a potential profession before having to fully commit to it. As someone who’s had internships in different fields, I can confidently say they have each helped the trajectory of my school experience significantly. Each one showed me things that I liked and disliked about the industries and lead me to the next.

As a public relations intern at SCG, I’ve discovered a passion and talent for writing, while simultaneously being able to improve those skills with help from the wonderful PR professionals I get to work with. In turn, it’s pleasant to know that there’s a day celebrating our hard work as interns, for both the company and our future selves.

Ben

College is an interesting time for those who choose to pursue it. It’s weird being 18 years old and being told, “Ok, now pick one of these and you may end up doing it for 40 years.” My dad always told me “It’s not about finding what you want to do. It’s more about finding out what you don’t want to do.” And the same can be said about internships. With me having an interest in the communications field, I wanted to explore all the ranges to see what I like, as well as pick up experience.

Previously, I interned as a writer for an online publication, seeing the transactions between journalists and PR firms. I have also interned for a PR firm, seeing it from the other side. That led me to SCG. I’ve had some great experiences seeing it at a real firm. Through it all, I’m thankful for collaborating with helpful people, and learning about the day-ins of the industry.

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Overall, it’s clear to see the vast impact internships have on young professionals exploring their interests. A helpful internship will leave a person with more answers than questions, and a sense of clarity of what they want to further pursue for a career. Let’s celebrate the role and impact of interns across the country.

Written collectively by our interns: Gina-Maria Zoccoli, Calli Shea, and Ben Bergeron