All finished with my internship, so soon!

I cannot believe my internship has come to a close so soon and so quickly. It is incredibly hard to put my internship into words into one blog post, so I am going to keep this one short and sweet.

Choosing to intern with Friends of the Parks was one of the greatest professional decisions I have ever made. I gained support from a wonderful and talented group of professionals, learned about the city immensely, gained internship credit that will go towards my major, gained a better sense of future career goals, and learned what it is like to be a young professional in the city.

The morning commute is still something I miss daily, whether I took the red line to work or the Hyde Park Express bus, there was always some sort of interesting experience daily!

I got to complete marketing tasks such as creating a newsletter that will be sent out monthly to members of the FOTP PAC (Park Advisory Council Program), this was a great opportunity for me to learn more about membership relations and marketing. I also got to collaborate with the marketing committee and create a PR and social media campaign. It is nice to know my legacy will continue on although I only spent six weeks with this organization.

I had the opportunity to take lunch breaks in Millennium Park or just stroll downtown for a few minutes or listen to music in the amphitheater while eating lunch in the gardens!

Most importantly, I gained real hands on internship experience in a field I can see myself working in. I received invaluable advice and my supervisors were like mentors to me throughout the summer. I left Friends of the Parks with a better grip about my professional life and confidence that cannot be taken away. I know that I have references I can always go to when it comes to letters of recommendation because I gave the organization my all throughout the internship, and they noticed, appreciated, and respected the work I did for them. I gained an edge on my classmates already having an internship under my belt, especially an internship in a large city such as Chicago!

This experience is one that cannot be taken back or traded for any other experience while in college! I encourage anymore who reads this to seriously consider participating gin the Chicago Center program or programs similar to this, it is life changing both personally and professionally!