Alexis Farmer

Describe the steps you took to obtain your internship.

My supervisor reached out to me about the position. She told me I would help plan and program different events for our campus. I was super excited that she thought I would fit the internship well. After I had a discussion about with my supervisor about the position, I went onto NoleNetwork to apply for the internship.

How far in advance did you prepare and begin applying for your experiential learning opportunity?

The discussion with my supervisor took place two weeks before I applied for the position, and I applied a month before I was accepted for the internship. Overall, the process was very fast-paced.

Describe some of your responsibilities or duties during your experiential learning opportunity.

Some of my responsibilities as an Engage Team Intern were to plan, program, and attend events on campus for students. I devised ideas for events and helped the rest of the Engage Team refine their ideas into practical plans for an event. I was responsible for advertising across campus, often collaborating with several on-campus clubs. I helped make posters and flyers to spread the word about events. Once it was time for an event, I would help set up and take the before social media posts/videos. During the event, I would continue to post various photos and videos about the event. Once the event was over, I would help break it down.

What was a typical day like "on the job?"

Typically, I would work with my supervisor and teammates to plan events for the upcoming months or the next semester. I would also email either club presidents or different vendors, depending on the planning/programming stage we were in. I also made flyers for upcoming events or various activities going on around campus.

What are some major takeaways from your experience? How will these help prepare you for the next step after graduation?

Before starting this internship, I thought about becoming an event planner. However, this experience has taught me that event planning is harder than it looks. For example, I didn't realize how many vendors I needed to talk to before we found the right one for our event. And then, after we found a vendor, we had to take many steps for them to be allowed to serve on campus. This internship has allowed me to determine my major and be satisfied with my choice. It has also given me the tools and resources to be able to plan my own events in the future!

Did this experience help clarify your career path? If yes, how so?

Yes, as mentioned before, I thought event planning was a career field I wanted to work in, however, after this experience, I realized that I would be happier with the CSI career field. While event planning is fun, it is a lot of hard work and takes someone who really enjoys it and is dedicated to event planning.