Intern Diary: Ryleigh
When I think about the past four months of my internship with JMG Public Relations, I’m overwhelmed with an immense sense of gratitude. I’m beyond thankful for the people I’ve met, the relationships I’ve formed, and the insane amount of growth I’ve had both personally and professionally. When I applied for JMG’s public relations intern position last Fall, I honestly did it on a whim. I had been following the company’s social media for a while and often enjoyed completing the daily Instagram story quizzes. When I saw that JMG had opened applications for Spring interns, I immediately submitted my resume and crossed my fingers. After what felt like three months of agony (less than two weeks), I received an email to schedule an interview with Jenna, and I accepted the position soon after.
When I first found out who I would be interning for this semester, I was very nervous. However, after my very first Zoom call with Kristen, the senior account executive at JMG, I knew everything would be perfectly fine. During the first few days of orientation, Erika provided comfort as she reminded all new interns that everyone there was once an intern too. Throughout this internship, I was able to work for several clients across several industries and each day held something new. I gained the skills of press clippings, feature summaries, pitch writing, client reports, press releases, and media list research and development. Even when I inevitably made mistakes, I never felt discouraged or inferior. Instead, Kristen and the JMG team took those mistakes as a learning opportunity and taught me how to move forward, rather than dwell on them.
One of my favorite parts about this internship was the daily “Sip the Tea” calls, where the whole JMG team would meet for 30 minutes to discuss celebrity gossip and pop culture. Although I felt like I didn’t know much about the celebrities being discussed, it was still fun to learn about the latest celebrity scandals, paparazzi photos, red-carpet looks, movies, and television shows. JMG gave me a great friendship with another intern, Elyssa. She and I attend the same university, and although we have taken classes together, we never talked until this internship brought us together. Elyssa and I also had the great opportunity to meet Jenna in person when she attended a local marketing summit as a keynote speaker. JMG has truly given me amazing opportunities, knowledge, and friendships that will extend beyond the course of this internship.
From my very first day at JMG, I’ve been treated with the utmost kindness and respect by a team that truly cares for one another, not just as colleagues, but as individuals. It was clear from the start that as a whole, JMG has a strong sense of community. I can’t thank Kristen enough for the impact she has had on both my personal and professional growth. Her support and guidance, along with the rest of the JMG team, instilled in me a sense of confidence that I never knew I had. Interning with JMG solidified my aspirations to pursue a rewarding career in client work and the field of public relations. I will forever be thankful to Jenna for taking a chance and allowing me to gain invaluable knowledge and experience from her and the entire JMG team. I enjoyed this semester so much that I decided to stick around for the Summer!
