When you are a student, it feels like you are taking a million classes all at once sometimes. Between studying, homework, and listening to lectures, the material you learn can start to feel mundane. You might think to yourself that you’re never going to have to use these skills anytime soon: but you can. I did an internship at Vision Advertising, and I got to practice the topics I learned in my classes in the real world and vastly improved my skills along the way.

You Have What It Takes (Whether You Know it or Not)

When I began my internship at Vision Advertising, I was nervous that I didn’t have enough knowledge or experience to do the projects that I would be assigned. I was worried that other interns would know way more about the field than I did. I feared my classes didn’t prepare me enough for this.

My first project assigned to me was to design ten Instagram stories for a client. I remember feeling so relieved that I knew how to do that. I thought back to one of the graphic design classes I took, called Digital Media Toolkit, where I had to create graphics for various types of social media platforms. I pulled up the mock designs I made for the class to refresh my memory on the creative process I did previously. Without hesitation, I started designing as the worry left my head.

Internships Expand Your Knowledge & Resources

Not only are internships a great place to use skills from classes, but you also gain a huge amount of knowledge on those skills, as well as brand-new skills that you can’t learn in a classroom environment.

I was assigned a project where I had to help work on content calendars. I learned about making content calendars in a social media management class I took previously. In class, we always made our own charts and inserted photos along with the captions. When I began the project training at Vision, I learned that they use a website that organizes the calendars for you. I was taught how to use the website, and I ended up loving it. I’m so glad I learned how to use the website, and I gained lots of experience using it.

3 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Internship

1. Have notes from classes accessible: It can be helpful to reference notes and previous projects from classes that correlate with the type of internship you are in. Instead of asking a question right away, try to find the answer on Google or in your notes.
2. Write about your internship projects: It is important to keep track of the projects you do at your internship. Write small notations about how you completed the project, any struggles you had, and how you overcame them. This will be a helpful reference if you ever work on a similar project in the future.
3. Keep a portfolio of completed projects: It is helpful to have a record of all the projects you did while interning. This way, you can look back on the progress you made over the course of your internship. You can reference the projects in the future, whether it is in class or at a job.

Actively bridging the gap between the classroom and an internship can be extremely beneficial. You get more out of internships and classes when you reference them within each other and reflect on the topic you have learned. I use the skills I’ve learned at Vision Advertising in my classes, as well as skills learned in the classroom at my internship. I have gained an immense amount of knowledge about marketing and graphic design from Vision Advertising. Check out the Internship section of their website to apply for the Spring or Fall!