“Never let success get to your head. Never let failure get to your heart.” I read this quote on the last day of my internship with Alliance Sports Marketing, before walking out to close the door on another successful accomplishment. I have had one other internship, but each one I complete motivates me to continue conquering my career field. Alliance Sports Marketing is a marketing company that works with different clients on safety campaigns, we went out to events and promoted the different campaigns. One of my favorite campaigns was “Choices Matter,” because it is a simple message that could be taken in all sorts of directions. For this specific campaign, we would visit high schools and have host presenters who would talk about an experience they had where a choice did matter. Not only did I manage events and promote campaigns, but I was the lead in the “Buckle Up” campaign where I worked with little leagues around Delaware. I would travel to their games and promote the campaign, that may sound boring. But after awhile in this internship, you started seeing the effect I had on people as I promoted the different campaigns. I also had the opportunity to visit their headquarters in Nashville, work on filmmaking projects, and gain many more skills.
Here is a list of some of the knowledge I gained and what I learned about myself:
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A Push Is Sometimes All It Takes: As a shy introvert, sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone and speak up. You will learn that you can be an extrovert and it could lead you places, just take the leap of faith.
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Organization and Commitment: Leading the “Buckle Up” campaign, I had to schedule events. It was rough at first since I had to create a list of current contacts. Once you get the hang of it, you feel like you are on top of the world and you gain another skill.
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Improvise: If you looking for something, a tool or piece of equipment, and it is not there. Improvise and make it work, you will find a way. I could not find a hammer, therefore I used a barbell as a replacement.
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Go Out Of Your Comfort Zone And Try Something New: I am a Mass Communication major with a concentration in television, radio, and film. This internship was way outside of my major. They took me in, taught me about their field and they incorporated my major in it too.
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Finding A Purpose: Before this internship I had gotten in an accident, when I was younger. This internship promoted vehicle safety and I did not realize my purpose until this internship. Having this experience led me to want to share my experiences, leading me to what my next goal and purpose is…promoting celiac disease.
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A Diamond In The Rough: As many good memories that we had created, there were also some bad ones too. Those bad memories showed me my flaws and improvements. For example: I had to drive a 9 foot U-haul in Maryland for an entire weekend alone, which gave me high anxiety. But I had overcome it and now I can drive anything and anywhere.
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There Is Always Room For Improvement: Some of the skills that I improved on was communication with others, learn the qualities of a leader, be in a variety of conditions from weather to different locations.
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“What’s Gonna Work…Teamwork”: The first semester it was just my boss and I, where I was managing a lot of events alone. The next two semesters we started going out in teams. In this field, having a team is very helpful because we are unloading and loading equipment, plus it is nice having someone to talk to when working a 12 hour shift.
Thanks to Alliance Sports Marketing, I was able to gain more knowledge about marketing and event management. Travel all around Maryland and Delaware to different events from festivals to baseball games. Making an influence in each campaign and with everyone I met, people started to remember me outside of work. Gain friendships, network, and cherish the great memories we had together. I will use everything as I continue on my journey in the field of journalism.