Well, I have officially made it through my first three weeks as the new marketing intern for Total Solutions. I had no idea what to expect when I started three weeks ago. It has been both overwhelming and exciting, but I could not have asked for a better internship experience so far. I am so grateful for everyone here at Total Solutions that have been nothing but kind and helpful as I navigate this internship. I cannot wait to see what the rest of this summer has in store for me.
My Background
I am a Davenport native. I am currently back home living with my parents and my older brother. As well as our cats and dogs. I went to Davenport Central where I was a member of varsity show choir and a section leader in marching band. I also spent time working at Here’s The Scoop in both the East Village in Davenport and the new location in Le Claire. When I graduated from Central in 2018, I had no idea where life after high school would take me. I was committed to Drake University for the fall of that year. When I had visited campus for the first time, I knew that it was the place for me. The campus felt like home from the very beginning. However, that was about the only thing I did know at the time. I came into Drake with no major and honestly no clue what I wanted to do. I registered for an intro business class that gave first-year students a look into the College of Business and what it could offer. This class truly opened my eyes to the business world and how Drake would help me into it. After being in this class for just a few weeks I knew that I belonged in the business school and with the help of advisors and staff I realized that marketing was the right fit for me. I declared my marketing major at the end of my first semester and never looked back.
My Time at Drake
I spent my first two years at Drake learning about all different areas of business. From accounting to statistics to management. These classes only further confirmed that marketing was the right choice for me. Even though I didn’t always enjoy these classes, they have given me so much background knowledge that even in just these first two weeks of my internship I realize how important learning more than just marketing is to my success. I was also able to take classes in other areas that interest me such as politics and writing.
During my third year, I was able to start an internship with the Management department at Drake. I helped the head of the department with updates and projects that she did not have time for. I updated information on the website, created short promotional videos for the major, and designed funding brochures for potential donors. This internship was my first look into real-life marketing, and I was able to learn a lot. However, the head of the Management department did not have a marketing background, so sometimes I felt completely lost on the projects I was working on. From this, I knew that for my next internship experience I wanted to be a part of a team that would be able to guide me while I learned.
My Internship (So Far)
I interviewed with Total Solutions in May of this year and knew immediately that I would be lucky to join this team. I was so excited when I was offered the position even though I was also terrified of having my first real job experience. My nerves disappeared when I started however because from the very beginning everyone I met was genuinely helpful and nice. I have learned more than I thought possible in these last few weeks and I know I will be able to go into my senior year of college confident in my abilities and sure of my future as a marketer.
I have loved every second of my internship so far. I am so grateful for the opportunity to do real work and make an impact not only at Total Solutions but with other businesses in the Quad Cities as well. Over the past 4 summers I have spent working at Here’s the Scoop and have been able to see firsthand how much stress business owners endure. It has been rewarding to help relieve even just the smallest amounts of stress for these people. I have enjoyed getting to meet with some of these individuals in person already and look forward to meeting more throughout my internship.
Some of the projects I have already been involved with are updating some of Total Solutions social media pages, creating social media reports for our clients, creating and scheduling client’s social media posts, and start marketing work for a new business. All of these have allowed me to take the knowledge I have learned in my classes and apply it to real-life work. I’ve also had the chance to learn more about programs we have used in classes and learn so many new ones as well.
These past three weeks have been more than I could’ve asked for when looking for an internship experience for the summer. There are so many things to look forward to for the next couple of months. I will be helping at our upcoming golf outing and more, and plenty more that I don’t know about yet. Once again, I could not have asked for a better internship experience or people to help guide me through it. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer holds.