Internships Experiences

What follows is a sampling of outstanding Summer 2005 internships. Read what Honors Program students have to say about their experiences and be inspired! Come in to the Honors Office library and peruse a more extensive compilation.

Just Like Jerry Maguire!
Career Sports and Entertainment, Atlanta

"Usually when I declare my desire to become a sports agent, the resulting remark would be, 'Oh, like Jerry Maguire!" and that would be the end of the story. I was selected from an applicant pool of 280 candidates-- one of seventeen-- for an internship with Career Sports and Entertainment. CS&E is a marketing and representation agency located in Atlanta, GA.

Working in the Client Services division fulfilled my wish to thoroughly learn about and investigate the ins and outs of being a sports agent. I examined approximately 30 different major newspapers and extracted brief summaries of articles that either contained information about one of CS&E's clients or had a generally large impact on the sports world. First in the mornings I focused on Major League Baseball, NBA, PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, NCAA Basketball, and NCAA Football. I sent the briefings to the entire company so that each employee would be kept abreast of all the previous day's news affecting CS&E. Next I updated the company's "stats sheet," for each of the fifty players we represented. I worked on a charity golf tournament, the 5th Annual "On Course for Kids Charity Pro-am," and was responsible for securing items for the silent auction.

I discovered that interning for a major company does not necessarily mean that you will be the coffee boy or buy the employees groceries. I was completing the same tasks as the lower level employees in my division. As time passed, I was given greater and greater leeway. While the employees rarely wore ties and often did not even wear button-down shirts, I consistently sported a button-down with a tie. I found that dressing above the expectations of the company set me apart from the crowd, and perhaps distinguished me as being a bit more professional. After only three weeks as an intern, the Senior Vice President of Client Services made sure to tell me that I was one of the best interns that CS&E had ever seen and that she loved my professionalism.

I definitely recommend applying the CS&E to any student who would like to enter the Entertainment, PR, Marketing or sports agency world."

Read about this competitive internship program at the following site: http://www.careersports.com/careers/internships.asp

Hollywood's First Script Reader
ImageMovers, Los Angeles

"For my internship at ImageMovers I was responsible for reading books and scripts that agencies recommended to the company. I was the first person to read potential projects. If I liked the script or book it would make it to the next level of scrutiny. If I thought it was bad, it was thrown out. That felt like real power. I would then write two to four pages of coverage on the script or book, outlining the story and its characters, and at the end I could make my comments on the piece. I would often read the pitches to my supervisor, and by the 10th word he'd say, 'Give that to me," and throw it out. And Los Angeles is where dreams come true? 'Wait, stop!' I would contend. 'You didn't even hear the whole idea!' I hated the idea of someone's lifelong dream being thrown into the trash after a mere two seconds. All he could do was chuckle. While this was a bit disheartening, at least I now know how to go about trying to get a script I've written read."

Media and the Mayor in NYC
Office of the Mayor of the City of New York

"I gained a better understanding of what a career in communications would entail. I answered questions from the producers of Law and Order, set up an interview with author Tim Robbins, discussed politics with a talk show host from Air London, and dealt with the various Consulates. I would compile the Press Digest after skimming through every national newspaper for articles related to the Mayor, City Hall, or anything significant to the city. I saw how articles originated and progressed. I scanned every televised news program, Tivo-ed from the previous day. Mayoral pieces were further analyzed and taped for records. I uploaded edited videos of pertinent city news story to the exclusive City Hall website. Engrossed in media for over eight hours a day, I learned the ins and outs of city and federal agencies, national political issues, and the eccentric activities that happen daily in one of the most famous cities in the world."

Putting on the Ritz
Ritz Carlton Central Park, New York

"The Ritz transforms even a student intern into a part of the hotel. I had worked in business settings before, but while working at the Ritz-Carlton I believe I saw the best of the best. My orientation was with five interns-out of almost five hundred applicants. I was taken on a tour to the Ritz's Royal Suite overlooking the park (with a price tag of $12,500), as well as many other exquisite areas of the hotel. I felt like I was, in some inexplicable way, a part of what was going on. This orientation was in introduction to the prestige and mystique of the Ritz-Carlton. I worked in Sales and Marketing. My main responsibilities included going over rates that were to be determined at the Business Travel conference. It was at this meeting that the room rates were decided for different clientele-from UN ambassadors to sports teams to executives at Coca-Cola, and the room revenues that each group had to meet for the following year were negotiated. I also helped handle solicitations to various executives across the globe, and handled different charity solicitations to the Ritz. I would definitely recommend the Ritz-Carlton internship to any business, hospitality, or travel and leisure student at the University of Florida."

Read about opportunities with the Ritz-Carlton at: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/corporate/employment/faq.asp

Back to Nature
Student Conservation Association, Yosemite

"We removed Himalayan Blackberry patches, a plant that acts a lot like Kudzu, choking and shading out native vegetation. In a national park it is ideal to never use electrical equipment unless it is absolutely necessary, so we worked only with hand tools. Blackberry removal proved very trying, but our crew was more tenacious than the plants. We slowly prevailed over the blackberry, having a lot of fun along the way. We also did fence repair, vegetative restoration, trail brushing and recreational hiking. Though we were camping, we indulged in gourmet foods: nan and dal, pad thai, garlic pesto, and even a Thanksgiving feast-a lot of work for those assigned to cook! Out in that fertile wilderness called Yosemite, we all put a little bit of ourselves into every task. In our service, we found out about each other and more importantly, about ourselves. We were not there for money or because of circumstance, but because we all wanted to make the world a better place. Yet out in all that beauty, we did not feel like we were giving up anything. We felt as extravagant as we had ever felt in all our lives."

For more information, visit: http://www.thesca.org/

Teaching and Learning from War Refugees
Children Better Way, Buduburam Liberian Refugee Camp Ghana, West Africa

"For the last three months I have been living among Liberian refugees. They were my neighbors, my coworkers, my friends, and my family. Many live on less than a dollar a day. Most have no idea where their families are, and all have experienced the horrors of war. I have never taught before, so this was a definite learning experience. In Baduburam I taught a class of 70 students with 150 more in the same room, divided only by straw partitions. We did not have money to make copies, so every night I would handwrite assignments in 70 notebooks. My initiative and creativity was tested time and again as I tried to provide adequate education in a very unfortunate situation. Corporal punishment and various types of abuse were quite common. As I want to deal with abuse in my future career this was a realistic glimpse as to the emotional and mental strain that occurs with trying to mediate in such cases. I came to learn that abuse is culturally accepted and therefore one has to be careful of drawing the line between personal beliefs and the actual infringement upon human rights.

I worked on various other projects including building wells, school improvement, PTA involvement, training local volunteers, and developing administrative policies. I became the spokesperson for the International Volunteers and learned a great deal about team work and what is necessary to coordinate 60 volunteers into one unified and functional NGO. I spent time on the finances of CBW and helped to do basic training in this area. I advocated opening the lines of communication within the organization, pushed for regular meetings with the Board of Directors, and trained the administration on working at an international level. During my time there I was nicknamed "Condoleeza Rice."

I was also doing data collection for my senior thesis: the impact of war experience as well as the refugee experience, and correlations to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression. Using personal interviews and questionnaires, this internship gave me incredible research experience, as well as an opportunity to apply a year's worth of previous literature research on this topic.

I lived among the sick, the poor, and the hungry. My life has changed as well as my priorities. I am a better person, a more educated student, and plan to be an advocate for change in this world."

To find out more about similar humanitarian internship openings, visit:http://www.volunteer.org.nz/