Running head: FINAL INTERNSHIP REFLECTION PAPER 1

Final Internship Reflection Paper

Julia D. Kent

Azusa Pacific University

Final Internship Reflection Paper

Public relations is known for its creativity, stress, excitement, & relationships, and I saw

a glimpse of this as a Public Relations Intern at Ballantines PR in West Hollywood. This

internship has exceeded my expectations and left me very satisfied with everything I gained from

this company. In this journal, I will be discussing my experiences at Ballantines PR from the

perspective of the climate I spent my semester in, and the knowledge I’ve acquired from my

internship.

Climate

Internship Site. ​This past semester I have spent my time interning at Ballantines PR in

West Hollywood as the Public Relations intern. The office is within a co-working office with

other companies. The office environment is very welcoming, encouraging, and you can tell that

all of the employees are hard workers. They are very appreciative of everything I do for them

and are always willing to teach me anything or answer any questions. Throughout my internship,

the climate of the office hasn’t necessarily changed but, I became more comfortable and found

my place within the office culture. In the beginning, I didn’t necessarily engage in conversation

unless someone directly talked to me, however now I will join in the office banter and ask them

questions about their weekend or how client events went. When I first entered the office I did not

know where my place was, I felt awkward for a little bit, however, once I realized I had to create

conversation I got a lot closer with the ladies in the office.

Looking back, if I were to change anything, I would be bolder when I first came into the

office. At first, I felt like I was getting in the way of their work, however later I realized that I

was a huge help to them and an essential part of the office. I would also ask for them certain
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projects or things that I wanted to grow my skills in. It is hard because you can only help with

whatever they need help with at the time, but being more vocal about what I want would be

helpful.

Supervisor. ​Ceilidh is my supervisor and I have loved getting to know her. She works as

the office manager so she knows everything and is always able to help anyone out when they

need something. I’ve only worked on a couple of projects with her, but she checks in with me

often since she is not as involved with the PR side of my internship. Trisha is someone that I got

very close to over the semester. At first, she intimidated me, however after she discovered I did a

good job with any of her projects, she began to rely on me more. She was always very

encouraging and always told me that I was doing a great job and that I was their favorite intern.

This was encouraging for me, and she began to trust me with harder tasks and more

time-sensitive jobs where she needed someone she could trust. I also worked a lot with Emily

and Lauren and they were also both super encouraging and very grateful for any help I could

give them. They are both relatively new to BPR and they are often a little overwhelmed so I was

glad to help them with any projects. I also worked with Teri and Austin and they were also very

kind and grateful.

When communicating with my supervisor, my main form of contact was email if I wasn’t

in the office. However, when I was in the office, I used my normal communication as the office

is very relaxed and not overly professional. Ceilidh is very bubbly and fun, so I tried to be

similar and it helped us have good conversations. She would also let me know what other

account executives were saying about me, and let me know that they thought I was doing a great

job and that they wished I wasn’t leaving so soon.

Insight for the Future. ​Throughout my interactions within the office, I learned a lot

about how the PR world actually works. I wasn’t always necessarily interacting with the

professionals but hearing the account executives talk with each other showed me the kind of

conversations they have with one another and with their clients. I saw moments of calm, and also

moments of panic and stress when there were problems with a client or something wasn’t going

as they planned.

One major takeaway I have is to realize that you aren’t a burden or in the way, but rather

that you are important and play a vital role in the organization. For some reason I felt like they

were doing me a favor by letting me intern with them, yet, I am doing them a huge favor and

helping each employee out so that they can focus on other more important tasks. Also these

relationships are a huge take away as they are a form of mentoring. The higher-ups have to show

you the ropes and be there for you to guide you. I tried to do things on my own and figure them

out, however, asking questions is important and not only helps you in the end with an answer but

shows that you are eager to learn. My internship experience taught me that PR is all about

relationships. Whether that is with your coworkers, clients, or the media, if your relationships are

not healthy or strong then you will get nowhere in PR. I also learned that research is an essential

part of PR and a step that one should not skip. Almost every task I completed involved some

form of research which lead to better results in media coverage, events, and overall client

happiness.

Integration of Knowledge

Projects/Skills. ​Throughout my internship, I worked on a lot of different projects.

However, the projects I worked on most often were compiling media lists. Media Lists are a
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compilation of media contacts that the account executives will then pitch a story to. The account

executives would let me know what they will be pitching and tell me the kind of writers they

want me to find. For example, if I was making a media list for CSM, one of our clients in the

entertainment world, they would tell me to look for entertainment writers specifically in New

York. I would then search all of the outlets and try to find these writers, and then use Cision,

which is a database of contacts for media, and put their email on a google sheet. Another project

that I often worked on was the creation of face sheets. We use face sheets for our events by

compiling pictures, names, and titles of the VIPs attending, so that we can identify people. I also

worked on PR recaps for specific clients which mainly required creating press clippings for any

media they received during that month. When making a press clipping, you take screenshots of

the title, author, the picture in the article, and any paragraph where the client appears and then we

compile that to look like one article. I also worked on social media, creating calendar listings for

events, media site alerts, and researching weekly trends. When I first began working on these

projects I was very timid and wanted to make sure I was doing it right, therefore it took me much

longer to finish these tasks. However, the more I completed them the faster and the more

comfortable I got with the process. The only frustration I had was with my computer, as it has

been making this weird sound when you click on it and it is uncontrollable so sometimes that

made being in the quiet office hard. All of these projects I worked on are exactly what I will be

doing at the beginning of my career. These are essential to PR and especially to any entry-level

job in PR which is what I will be doing once I graduate. The only thing I wish I would have

developed a little more is creating press releases.

Concept Application. ​In my journals, I focused on the PR theory known as message

theory which focuses on the media and how the message is being told. I also discussed framing

which focuses on how the media frames the message and how that will impact the audience's

view on the company or situation. I believe that framing was the theory that I saw most often in

everything we did in the office. I saw this is in how we would pitch to media, how we would talk

to clients on the phone, and through our social media use. Public Relations relies on framing to

put the information in the best light for the audience. If they didn’t frame the message, no

company would need a PR company, as their job is to communicate the information in the best

way to the given public.

I believe that my coursework adequately prepared me for this internship. I never felt like

I was completely clueless or lost, sometimes I just needed a little guidance but I was a quick

learner and that is due to my education at APU. APU prepares you in learning the goals of PR

and why we do the work that we do. I already knew what most of the things they asked me to do

where however, I didn’t always know how to do them. The PR department should consider

adding classes that teach some of these skills like media lists, press clippings, PR recaps and

other parts of PR. These skills are the things that we will be doing once we enter our entry-level

positions, so it would be nice to learn it through our education.

Faith/Values. ​Coming from the APU bubble, it was definitely a little of a shock coming

into the office culture at BPR. While everyone is extremely sweet and kind in the office, they

still have different values than what I am used to seeing at APU. For example, they cuss a lot

more often than people at APU do. I am not saying that people at APU do not cuss, however,

theirs is more constant and included in everyday conversation. I think that the way I went about
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my work reflects my faith. I was always kind to the employees of BPR and always willing to

help them with what they needed. My demeanor also showed my faith as I didn’t participate in

the cussing or conversations that did not reflect my values. There were not a ton of opportunities

to discuss faith, and there wasn’t anything that was against my faith either. However, Trisha was

also a Christian and she would sometimes discuss that and would say “Pray that we get coverage

for that!” and I would always let her know that I would. Emily, a new senior account executive

in the office, often asks if she is doing a good job, and the rest of the office and I were always

there to tell her that she is doing great. Also, I was able to affirm people’s worth by having good

conversations with them and agreeing with them by making connections. Looking back, I would

be more intentional in getting to know each account executive and making an effort to create a

relationship with them.

After this past semester, I am even more excited to work within the PR industry and a

major part of that excitement is due to my time at Ballantines PR. I have come out of this

internship with great skills and a new passion for PR. When I enter the workplace environment, I

plan to be a light for others and to create a loving environment. I value others and want to show

that through my work-life. I would absolutely recommend this internship to other APU students

that want to pursue a career in PR. Through the information above on the climate of BPR and the

integration of knowledge, my public relations skills grew stronger and I am more confident in

my future now. I am grateful that I got the opportunity to work with incredible people in the

industry and I cannot wait to take the knowledge I gained and bring it to my career path as I

leave APU and enter the public relations world.