Hi everyone, for our last week of blogging about internships, Mackenzie Kriel ’15 will continue discussing her internship experience with Family Abuse Services, and reflect about what she learned.
“When I first began my internship with Family Abuse Services (FAS), I wasn’t sure what to expect. This was my very first internship and I was excited to enhance my writing abilities. For other Professional Writing & Rhetoric majors that will be interning next year, I highly suggest that you’re ready to work as soon as the internship starts. I was a little unsure of what I was supposed to be doing and it was necessary that I consulted my internship coordinator, Dr. Pope-Ruark, and my internship supervisor, Cary Crawford from FAS, to determine what steps I needed to take. At first, my internship started off slow but once I understood what I needed to be working on, I began making good progress.
I was mostly creating blog posts for the FAS website, highlighting recent news about domestic violence, discussing local events, and explaining many of the services FAS offers for domestic violence victims. It was a great opportunity to enhance my writing skills and become familiar with WordPress. With the blog posts, incorporating multimedia provided viewers with a more enhanced experience. I added pictures and links to increase reader comprehension. My blog posts were concise summaries of longer articles; by providing viewers with the links to original articles, they were able to get a better understanding of the story and were given a more enhanced experience.
When Cary discussed revising the FAS website, I knew that I was going to have to seek outside help. I had no experience using WordPress and wasn’t great at using computer technologies. Therefore, I scheduled an appointment with Dan Reis at Technology Services in the library. He gladly helped me make the necessary revisions and updates to the website. When completing an internship, there are always options and help available. Don’t hesitate to contact other resources for assistance.
For future interns, I would also recommend keeping in contact with your coordinator and supervisor each week to establish you’re on the right path. I scheduled many in-person meetings with Cary Crawford so that we could discuss my progress and determine the appropriate next steps. Whenever I was slightly confused about something, I didn’t hesitate to email Dr. Pope-Ruark or Cary. It was important that I didn’t get confused or behind on my work. I highly recommend that you stay on top of your work and ask questions whenever you are confused or feeling overwhelmed. I learned that I wasn’t alone in completing this internship; I had a great support system and it was essential that I used it.”
To learn more, visit their website at: http://www.familyabuseservices.org/
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