Spreading the Word
![Dickinson interns at Sud de France.](/images/richards700.jpg")
Students sample internships in marketing, public relations and media
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Students interested in careers in international business, marketing, advertising and public relations (PR) have many options. From the first-year history major who鈥檚 interning at an international media company in Oxford, England, to the soccer enthusiast working at the world鈥檚 largest soccer museum (Barcelona, Spain) to the double major in art and French who鈥檚 getting a Francophile鈥檚 taste of the New York art scene, there are many interesting stories of summer-internship success. Here are a few.
Mark Brown 鈥�17 鈥� Providence Bruins
Hockey enthusiast Mark Brown 鈥�17 secured an opportunity of a lifetime when he earned an internship with the Providence Bruins, the primary American Hockey League developmental organization for his favorite National Hockey League team, the Boston Bruins.
An international business & management major, club hockey player and Student Senate committee member, Brown contacted the Bruins directly last March. After a resume review and several phone interviews, he received word in April that he鈥檇 spend his summer in the offices atop the Bruins鈥� arena.
As a member of the Providence Bruins' marketing team, Brown assists with marketing and promotional campaigns, maintains a sponsorship inventory, updates player bios for the website and communicates with sponsors. He plans to return to the Bruins office as an intern during the winter break to continue the work.
鈥淲orking in an accelerated environment in the executive offices of the Providence Bruins鈥攚here [former Boston Bruins player] Don Sweeney is constantly in and out, and where everyone in the office works extremely hard day in and day out鈥攈as been an amazing experience,鈥� he says, adding that his career aspirations have shifted slightly, as a result.
Jasmin Lee 鈥�16 鈥� American Express Company
The seeds for Ja Min "Jasmin" Lee 鈥�16鈥檚 current internship were planted last spring, when this international business & management major took part in an internship with a Manhattan public-relations firm through the program.
鈥淚 loved every single aspect of the program and fell in love with the city,鈥� says Lee, who began to apply for summer internships midway through the semester.
Combing through the Career Center's internship database, Lee discovered an opportunity at American Express Company. The internship was posted by Will Tsang 鈥�06, a former political-science major who supervises Lee now.
A native of Korea, Lee said she enjoys meeting and working with the diverse staff at a large international corporation, because it offers her different perspectives on the field.
It is the fourth internship for this rising senior. She also worked at the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea last summer, interned at a startup incubator in Washington, D.C., last fall through the Washington Center program and performed public relations work at a global-affairs and strategic-communications agency last spring. She looks forward to launching a public-relations career in New York City after graduating from Dickinson.
鈥淎ll my internships reminded me that that I have so many opportunities and potential career paths,鈥� she says.
Sam Richards 鈥�16 and Pia Holtmeier 鈥�16 鈥� Sud de France D茅veloppement
From left: Pia Holtmeier '16, Christina Socci 鈥�13, Mauricio Toscano '18, Sam Richards 鈥�16 and Michelle Hovy 鈥�14.
Headquartered in Montpellier, France, with offices in New York, London, Casablanca and Shanghai, Sud de France promotes the Montpellier region in southern France, with a focus on the area's wine, tourism, food products, investments and enterprises.
A double major in art & art history and French, Richards enjoyed three art-history internships in previous summers鈥攁s the first undergraduate intern at the Willem de Kooning Foundation, where he assisted with a major de Kooning retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); at The Newark Museum, where he helped prepare an exhibition; and at Boston鈥檚 Skinner Auction House.
This summer, he wanted to secure a position that drew on his French studies, and he found it in Sud de France, after discussing internship opportunities with Hovy. Richards appreciates the stimulating, global and fast-paced culture at the Manhattan office and the chance to practice French in a business setting. He also was thrilled to discover that his work also occasionally ties in with the New York art scene.
鈥淚 never expected to meet Yoko Ono because of my internship at a French firm,鈥� he says, explaining that his company supplied the wine for a recent event tied to Ono鈥檚 exhibition at MoMA. 鈥淵ou just never know where your job will take you.鈥�
Holtmeier, an international business & management major, found the summer internship through the Career Center鈥檚 online database. It is her second internship, having previously worked as a market-research analysis intern at Roland Berger (Dusseldorf, Germany) the summer after her first year at Dickinson.
At Sud de France, Holtmeier helps plan and execute social-media communications, manages a donation-collection project, writes media pitches and updates data and portfolios.
She enjoys the international atmosphere and the chance to shoulder day-to-day responsibilities in a global corporation. 鈥淚鈥檝e also learned about myself as an employee,鈥� she adds.
Christopher Pollock 鈥�18 鈥� Futbol Club Barcelona
As a global traveler and member of the team, Christopher Pollock 鈥�18 has many reasons to enjoy his summer internship with the Futbol Club (FC) Barcelona, a professional sports organization in Spain and home to one of the most-visited museums in Europe.
Located at the FC Barcelona stadium, the museum attracts nearly 12,000 visitors a day, and Pollock, who works directly for its site manager, speaks Spanish exclusively as he assists with many aspects of the work, including restocking photo books, creating souvenir products and helping customers. He also has designed a customer survey and supervises other summer employees.
The internship marks Pollock鈥檚 fourth summer trip to Barcelona. During the previous three summers, he鈥檇 traveled to Spain to visit a former foreign-exchange student, Jordi, his family had hosted during the 2012-13 academic year. 鈥淛ordi鈥檚 father happened to be the director of the [Futbol Club Barcelona] museum at the team鈥檚 stadium, and we had always talked about the possibility of me working in Barcelona one day,鈥� Pollock remembers. 鈥淎fter learning that my [intended] major required an internship, he was the first person I contacted.鈥�
Pollock is already planning a summer 2016 internship in sports promotion, hopefully with Philadelphia鈥檚 Major League Soccer team.
鈥淚 think the most valuable part of this internship is that I am able to see, for the first time, that what we learn in class actually applies in a real life-situation,鈥� he says, noting that he welcomed the chance to brush up on his Spanish-language skills, as well.
In addition to these students, more than 400 Dickinson students are gaining valuable experience this summer through internship and research opportunities in science, finance, government, entertainment and other fields.
Learn more
- Interns in Action
- "Entertainment Value"
- (by Nick Bailey '16 in HuffPost College)
- Global Study & Engagement
- Latest News
Published August 7, 2015