As many current and former college students know, internships are vastly different from traditional courses.  While there is learning involved, the method through which knowledge is obtained changes.  Rather than have students read textbooks, take exams, and study concepts, internships focus on using real-life situations to show what working in a professional career is like.  They are a chance for people to develop their skills, embrace new experiences, and grow as career professionals.

When I started looking for potential internship positions, I had a good idea of what I was looking for.  My focus was on finding a firm that specialized in marketing and/or public relations, since that was, and still is, my intended career goal.  I was fortunate enough to find KKPR Marketing & Public Relations.  I really liked their values, and I was given an opportunity to do a bit of job shadowing with them beforehand to get some understanding of what they do.

If someone had asked me how I envisioned my internship four months ago, I probably wouldn’t have said anything about a virtual experience.  Yet here I am working on projects, learning how to create social media content for different companies, developing new skills, and expanding my marketing/public relations knowledge, all from home.  Because of the current COVID-19 pandemic, my school, Penn State, is requiring all internships for summer to be conducted virtually.  This has drastically changed the nature and form of my internship experience, as I’m sure it has done for many others.

As one might expect, working and learning virtually can present a few challenges.  One of the biggest of these challenges is communication.  While it is possible to relay messages using email, text, and other platforms, there are some concepts that are easier to grasp with in-person communication.  This has certainly made my internship experience a bit difficult, especially since I tend to work/learn better when I can talk with people face-to-face.  However, I have still managed to learn a great deal from KKPR and the amazing people who keep her going every day.  For the past two weeks, I have had the opportunity to learn new skills and build upon what I already know.  Even during this difficult situation, the KKPR team is able to provide me with instruction and assistance to help me grow/develop as an individual and future career professional.  I’m learning how to create social media content for local companies, how to utilize different apps and software, and understand what it takes to be successful in the marketing/public relations world.

I have been asked a few times by friends and family how I feel about having a virtual internship.  Do I feel like I’m getting a lot out of it?  Is it providing me with a good experience?  Am I learning as much as I would with a physical internship?  The answer I give to all of those questions is “yes.”  While this certainly isn’t how I expected my internship experience would be, I am very grateful for the opportunity.  Thanks to the KKPR team, I am still able to enjoy all an internship has to offer, even from home.