Internship Opportunities (graphics) -- Internship Opportunities (text only)

Through the Eyes of an Intern:
Sondra Swauger

I intended to log my experiences frequently throughout my internship, but fell immensely behind. I have written occasionally but not extensively. Now, about three-quarters through my experience, I am taking a look back to describe my experience with Athens' Own. My intent in this description is to provide a glimpse into Athens' Own from a my perspective. In addition to my experience with Athens' Own, I have included personal experiences that I feel have impacted my life and my relationship with Athens' Own.

I first heard about the internship opportunity with Athens' Own through a vague description posted in the Ohio University College of Communications electronic newsletter. I was immediately intrigued by the prospect of working with a marketing network that focused on promoting the interests of small, local businesses and community rather than large corporate conglomerates.

On the evening of October 18, 2004, I drafted and sent my cover letter and resume to Constantine Faller, founder and manager of Athens' Own.

The following day, I got married at the Athens County Court house around 1pm and at 3:30 had an appointment with my academic advisor, Diana Knott to discuss my remaining graduation requirements. By the end of the quarter, I would have completed all of my graduation requirements with the exception of a 200 hour internship. I discussed with my advisor the possibility of an internship with Athens' Own and she thought it was a great idea.

Later that evening, my new husband and I went to visit my mother in law for cake. On our way home, I listened to my cell-phone messages and had one from Constantine. I called him back and after a lengthy discussion about my interest in Athens' Own and my qualifications, we scheduled an interview for the next day.

Our first meeting was longer and much more inclusive than the typical interview. Before we even discussed the position, Constantine allowed me to tag along at The Oasis while he performed some of his typical duties for distributing organic coffee. After giving me a taste of his daily routine, we grabbed a seat outside and began to discuss my priorities and my vision for the future.

I explained to him that I had recently discovered the fact that I was pregnant and that this realization had greatly changed my priorities. This was an extremely stressful time for me. Besides the fact that I had just gotten married and had taken no time off for a honeymoon and the prospect of becoming a mother, I was enrolled in 18 rather difficult hours of class and unsure about how I could fit the internship in with my other obligations. I made it clear that classes were my priority until the end of November, but in the meantime agreed to do everything I could to contribute to Athens' Own when I was able.

As for my vision for the future, first and foremost, I wanted to be a good mother. In addition, I wanted to have a positive impact on my community. We discussed my passion for knitting and my plan to someday open an interactive craft-store.

We talked about the meaning of community, how I viewed the Athens community, my vision of what a good community should be, and what changes I thought were necessary to improve Athens as a community. As we talked, I began to catch a glimpse of the Athens' Own vision, although I was far from seeing the whole picture.

Before our meeting was over, I was assigned my first task: raise public awareness about health and safety during the annual Athens Halloween Block Party that was barely a week away. Athens' Own already had a flyer to be posted around town and on campus. My job was to publicize this flyer and make sure it was distributed.

I got started immediately, drafting a news-release that detailed Athens' Own mission, and the purpose of the flyer. I sent this draft to Constantine and Kathy Jacobson, an Athens' Own affiliate, for review. I also sent the draft to Scott Moody, a biology professor at Ohio University to get his input about the importance of hand washing for disease control. I received positive feedback from everyone and began to send the release via e-mail to The Athens News, The Post, The Athens Messenger and WOUB on October 22.

I was initially disappointed when I did not hear any response from any of the medium I had contacted. I sent the release again a few days before the block party, and awaited a response. Although I never heard back, my release was published exactly as I had written it (except my name was removed for some reason, and the final line was cut) in a special Halloween edition of The Athens News.

I was also responsible for contacting the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega about posting the flyer, as we were short on manpower. After receiving no response to an e-mail I sent, I went to a group meeting and spoke with one of APO's leaders. She agreed to distribute the flyers, and I gave her 150 flyers to post at that time with instructions to post on campus, and uptown. Thus, my first mission was completed.

However, looking back, I would like to note that I did not see any of the flyers posted prior to the event and my husband and friends who attended block party (I opted to steer clear because of the pregnancy) reported that they did not see any of the flyers posted either. A couple of weeks after block party, I noticed a flyer posted in one of my classrooms, but was not sure how long it had been there without my noticing. I realize now that I should have maintained communications with Alpha Phi Omega to make sure the flyers were being posted when and where they should have been. Though I was busy with other obligations (classes, doctor visits, etc.) maintaining communication would have taken very little time and effort and could have greatly improved the results.

The weekend after my initial interview, I met with Constantine and Kathy Jacobson on her land, about 30 miles outside of Athens. We hiked through her woods, which were stunning as the autumn leaves covered the ground and clung to the trees. As we hiked, we discussed my plans with the organization further. Also, Kathy explained her current situation to me and asked for my input as a public relations specialist. She had resigned from her position with the city/county level health department because of her convictions and the seeming lack of concern about preparedness from the administration. She was preparing to address the community and the board about her reasons for resigning and we discussed what she should and should not bring up, as well as possible measures of gaining public support. After our hike, Constantine made us a delicious dinner and we continued to discuss the health department, Athens' Own and my aspirations. I had a fabulous time and learned a bit more about Athens' Own in the process.

My second official task was to bring attention to the upcoming Market Days of Athens Own. The event was intended as a forum where local vendors and artists could converge as a market of sorts at the fairgrounds. In the past, there had been very low turn-out for both vendors and shoppers. My goal was to improve turn-out, even if only a little and use the experience as a way to create a more extensive plan to be implemented for the next Market Days. Although I was happy to take on the task, I was also weary because the event was scheduled for Saturday November 20, 2004 -smack dab in the middle of my final exam schedule. In fact, I had a biology exam scheduled for that same day.

In order to give myself time to study for finals without adding the additional stress of publicizing an event at the same time, I decided to get started with my Market Days tasks around the second week of November.

First, I met with Ed Scott, who was responsible for coordinating the event. We discussed what was needed to bring attention to the event, and he provided me with a list of vendors and artists who were already signed up to participate. Using that information, I drafted a news-release which Ed sent to his connections at The Athens News and The Athens Insider. I also sent the release via e-mail to The Post, WOUB, and sister radio stations WATH/WXTQ. The Athens News and The Athens Insider both published the story exactly as written in my release. I also created a flyer to post around town designed to inform people about the event, as well as to invite potential vendors and artists to participate. Everything was finished by the third week of the month, and I ended up having plenty of time to study.

I was unable to attend the entire event because of my exam, but I enjoyed the time I did spend at Market Days. I decided to take some of the handmade jewelry and scarves I had stockpiled at my apartment to sell. I estimate about 10 vendors and 20 shoppers attended the event while I was there. Apparently, I had missed quite a few people while taking my exam. Though not a huge turn-out, it was an improvement over past Market Days, especially considering the chilly weather and overcast sky.

I especially enjoyed getting the chance to see what other local artists and craftsmen had to offer and the opportunity to meet and talk with them. In all, I made $8.50 in sales, and spent $8 at Hot Diggity Dog (apparently the baby is as big a fan of fair food as I am!) I think that everyone who did attend had a wonderful time as well. In the future, I hope that the event becomes even bigger and better. Though my internship will be over by the time the next Market Days of Athens' Own rolls around, I would like to participate and work to improve turn-out even more. In fact, I have already started preparing the framework for publicizing the next event (although it is five months away) by tweaking some of the materials I had already created to reach out to potential vendors and customers on our website.

At the end of Market Days, I approached Constantine to discuss my next task. He asked me talk to Kathy Jacobson to arrange an interview time and start putting something together about her hand poured beeswax candles.

(I would like to note that for the first time in my student career at Ohio University, I earned straight A's on all of my finals, as well as in all of my classes. I think that being pregnant and my added responsibilities with Athens' Own allowed me to prioritize and push myself harder than ever before.)

I worked with Kathy, owner of Candelaria Crafts to find ways to generate buyers for her hand poured 100% beeswax candles. I met with her at her home on November 29 to discuss how she became involved with the trade. During our interview, she poured wax and allowed me to experience the process along with her. I even poured wax for a while! During this time, we also discussed the future of Athens' Own and my vision for the future. The experience was wonderful, and I learned a lot more from watching her as she told me stories about her past and the art of candle-pouring than I could have from a less interactive interview. To supplement our discussion, she gave me a packet of materials she had made that described her life-journey and the ancient craft of hand-pouring candles.

I'll admit that going into the interview, I was unclear about what exactly was expected of me. To be honest, I'm not sure than anyone had specific expectations and that this task was primarily aimed at determining my ability to take charge of my own work with little direction.

Using the notes I compiled during our interview along with the materials she gave me, I created a complete press pack for Candelaria Crafts. My work was intended as a supplement to what she already had, which I found to be quite good. Some of my materials were similar to what she had created, but written from an outsider's perspective rather than first-hand. I compiled a backgrounder that detailed Candelaria Crafts, from its beginning to the current stage, a bio that told the story of Kathy's life with special attention to the role of candle-pouring, a quick-fact sheet that detailed some of the important terminology related to her craft, a flyer to distribute to potential vendors detailing the quality of her work and a news release explaining that Kathy is the last known person who still makes candles according to the ancient tradition of pouring wax onto wicks that are attached to a large, metal frame suspended form the ceiling.

The backgrounder, quick facts sheet and flyer were intended to be posted on the Athens' Own Website.

I chose to compile a complete press pack so Kathy would have something appropriate already prepared for any event that would arise.

My internship responsibilities also included maintaining contact with John Knouse, who designed and maintains the Athens' Own Website. I frequently sent him text files to post with instruction on where on the site the material should appear. Most of my written documents were created with the intent of posting online. When I first started, there was little information available on the site, but it has grown immensely. At first, I was frustrated that things weren't being posted as quickly as I was producing them, but eventually, everything came together. I greatly appreciate all of John's hard work in allowing my hard work to be viewed and utilized online.

In an effort to speed up the posting process, I even learned how to perform some basic HTML tasks and created some basic pages for the website that have been posted (although with some improvements from John.) Once John got caught up with all of the postings I had sent, and my output began to slow down for various reasons (personal illness, decrease in necessity for posted materials once the most important pages were created) it became entirely unnecessary to create my own pages. Even so, I learned the basics of a very useful skill for the future.

Throughout my experience, I frequently contacted Constantine and vis versa. We had numerous telephone conversations (many of which lasted an hour or more) and visits to discuss my progress, future tasks and what I was learning from the experience. I have enjoyed getting to know Constantine as a person and have broadened my interpretation of what Athens' Own is as well as my vision of my role and what it can become in the future. With each task, I learn a little bit more about the grand plan for Athens' Own, which is ever-expanding and learn a little bit about myself and what I am capable of, which is always infinitely more than I initially expect.

I was instrumental in improving communications channels through improving the availability of information available online and helping create a business card that contains the Athens' Own logo as well as contact information. The card will allow people to access Athens' Own via PO Box, telephone and on the Web. The business card was quite frustrating to make, as a result of technological difficulties. Initially, I was not able to create the card I desired in the programs available to me. I took some time away from the cards and worked on other projects for a wile. Eventually, my husband re-installed and registered Adobe Photoshop and I was then able to quickly and easily create a card.

Additionally, I designed a 3-fold pamphlet that contained the Athens' Own logo, mission statement, a description of "who we are and what we do," and a list of clients and contact information. This pamphlet was designed to be distributed at events and at businesses who are part of the Athens' Own network. The most difficult aspect of the pamphlet was creating a format that was both visually appealing and easy to read.

In an effort to increase student involvement with Athens' Own, I created detailed descriptions of internship opportunities that were posted on the Web, as well as e-mailed to relevant personnel at Ohio University. It was somewhat difficult describing different internship opportunities for one primary reason -every individual is somewhat responsible for creating his or her own internship experience -therefore the expected tasks were difficult to list. Instead of focusing on specifics, I chose to list general tasks for each opportunity and focus more on desired personal characteristics.

As a way to familiarize the public with Athens' Own, it was also important to bring attention to the various products and services Athens' Own is involved with selling, distributing, marketing, etc.

One product of Athens' Own is Dawn Chorus Coffee. I interviewed Constantine about his role as founder of Dawn Chorus, and did internet research in order to create a description and a quick facts sheet that detailed important terminology related to Dawn Chorus. Both were intended to be posted on the Web, and as printed materials for potential vendors. I had to revise these materials a couple of times because I misinterpreted some of Constantine's descriptions about the most important aspects of Dawn Chorus. I learned the importance of patience and flexibility when writing for a client when it is initially unclear exactly what he or she wants to be published.

In order to keep anyone who is interested in the efforts of Athens' Own (from involved businesses to bystanders) I decided to create a monthly newsletter. The first few issues were intended to be e-mailed to everyone on the Athens' Own e-mail list and posted on the website. Eventually, the intent is to e-mail a brief reminder that the new issue is out with a link to the website where the newsletter will be posted in its entirety.

In addition to monthly news, I thought it would be fun to include a contest in each issue as an incentive to read the newsletter, as well as a way for readers to participate with Athens' Own. The first contest was to name the newsletter -admittedly, this is because I had writer's block and couldn't think of anything creative to call it. However, allowing readers to submit titles and rewarding the winning title with a token prize (a package of Dawn Chorus Coffee in this instance) allows them to be a part of Athens' Own history.

Some of my internship tasks have not been directly involved with Athens' Own. Constantine referred me to Viviane Herbert, head of the Athens Area Arts Alliance (Quad-A), to help her write a letter addressing Quad-A members of changes within the organization. For this task, I spoke with Viviane via telephone about the purpose for the letter. I drafted a basic form letter with all of the information she requested and e-mailed it to her. In the e-mail, I mentioned that she was welcome to use what I had written, make any changes she saw fit, or personalize it if she so desired. I also said that I would be happy to make any changes she felt necessary. She chose to personalize and make a few additions to what I had written and send back to me for further input. Though the task was quite simple for me, it was nice to know that I had provided a great service to her and took a small load off of her busy schedule. This was a rather long process, not because the task was difficult, but because it fell into the holiday season, and both Viviane and I were busy with other obligations. Luckily, we were able to communicate casually and when we had time.

I also think it is important to mention the tasks I have chosen NOT to accept. Constantine often sent e-mails about political issues that are relevant to the Athens' Own mission. I have made suggestions regarding response letters he had written, or letters from others that he forwarded to me. He suggested that I write letters to influential congressmen and other political leaders regarding certain issues as a representative of Athens' Own. After researching the issues, careful consideration and personal reflection, I decided that I did not want to be involved in that capacity. Although I agreed that the issues were important and shared most of Constantine's views, I felt that despite my research, I did not know enough about the background of such issues and was not well-enough informed. I was simply not comfortable writing such letters and putting the Athens' Own name on them. Although, I assured him, I did not mind writing as a concerned individual, or editing and making suggestions for letters written by others. Constantine understood completely and did not push me to pursue any project that I was not entirely comfortable with.

It is January third, 2005 today. For the past couple of weeks (with the exception of occasional communication with Viviane Herbert about the Quad-A letter) I have not been very active in my internship because of illness, attempting to find a sub leaser for my apartment and being out of town for the holidays. I think that reflecting on my experience to this point is an excellent way to get back into the groove.

This week, I plan to write a new issue of our newsletter -I don't think the last issue was sent to our mailing list, so perhaps this will be a short issue with updates attached to the first to send out.

Also, I hope to finish a project I started before leaving for the holidays. I am working on compiling a story about another Athens' Own product -aged beef. I have obtained a press release about the aging process written by Lily Briselin, an Athens' Own affiliate, and interviewed Constantine and proprietors of two local restaurants who have used the beef. I intend to interview at least one local beef farmer who has been involved with Athens' Own and piece together my story.

From this point on, my internship experience will be very different. Later in the week, I am moving to Columbus to be closer to my family during my pregnancy and after the baby is born and so that my husband and I can find paid work to support ourselves. I will complete the last hours of my internship primarily via e-mail and telephone from Columbus.

At this point, I am amazed at how much I have accomplished in just over two months, especially considering everything else that has been happening in my life. The great thing is that anyone is capable of doing the same. I hope that my story inspires those who might think they are too busy to participate in this wonderful movement to at least make an effort and see just how much you are capable of! I also hope to encourage future interns to make the most of this incredible opportunity and not take it for granted.