By Isabella Thomas
Lower Moreland Township High School, Class of 2024
Before job shadowing with The Communication Solutions Group, I had no idea what to expect. As a senior in high school, I never had any internship experience before. When my school, Lower Moreland Township High School, announced that each senior was required to partake in a three-week long field experience, I was nervous and wondered how it would go. I questioned what the staff would be like, what projects I would do, if I would be good enough, etc. However, as soon as I got to the firm, my stress was immediately relieved. From the very beginning, the team was very welcoming and eager to teach me new things every day. Throughout my time at Communication Solutions, my knowledge of PR and marketing continuously grew. From start to finish, my internship was a very rewarding experience and I believe every high schooler should take the opportunity to job shadow.
PR & Marketing Manager Kellie Dietrich reviews edits with Isabella Thomas.
Gain Real Work Experience
The main thing I took away from this internship is real work experience, which every high schooler can benefit from. When I first spoke to the company President, Leza Raffel, she instantly seemed very passionate about internships. She briefly touched on her own past experiences with job shadowing and how she felt they hadn’t actually taught her much. However, with her own business, she wanted to make sure her interns worked on real projects and client work and were able to learn something valuable. True to her word, Leza and Kellie Dietrich, PR and Marketing Manager, gave me a wide variety of projects, from social media posts to a press release and more.
For example, one type of project that I became very experienced at was media clips. Using Microsoft Word, I would take an article and format it in a more visually appealing way. This would make the article ad-free and easier for people to read when presented by the company on social media. Additionally, they allowed me to sit in on weekly staff meetings and actual Zoom meetings with clients. Through these, I was able to get real work experience and a more accurate idea of what the Communication Solutions team and others in marketing and PR do for work.
Discover If the Field is Right For You
This was also an accurate representation of what my future will look like in the marketing and PR field. As a result, job shadowing was able to help me figure it out if this field is the right career choice for me. For those who have no clue what field they want to go into, this could also help give them an idea. As a high schooler, it is very rare that you know exactly what you want to do with your life or if something is genuinely the right fit for you. This is often because high schoolers usually do not get the opportunity to experience firsthand the career field they want to pursue. At only 17 years old, high school seniors are required to decide their future. Usually, it is only until they are in college that they get an internship and actually get work experience in their chosen field. Through job shadowing at Communication Solutions, I was able to get a real idea of what my future would look like before even starting college. I continuously worked on actual client work that interested me and taught me more knowledge about marketing and PR. As I completed each project, my certainty continued to grow. Factors, such as the skills I used every day and the work environment, made me sure that this is the career I want to go into and I am more eager now than ever to pursue a marketing major.
Boost Your Resume or College Application
Aside from giving you real work experience and assurance of what career you want to pursue, job shadowing can be great to help boost your resume or college application. While completing projects, I was able to strengthen skills and learn new ones that would help on a resume. For example, I strengthened my time management skills as I was given numerous projects each day. I had to make sure I managed my time wisely and got each one done in an efficient way but still with good quality. I also strengthened my creativity skills but also learned new ones by making social media posts via Canva. Before coming to Communication Solutions, I was barely familiar with how to use Canva. However, throughout my time here, I have become very experienced with the website and how to use its graphics and templates. Besides the skills that come with job shadowing, you could also mention the internship in your resume to show you have past experience and prior knowledge about your career field. This can help greatly when trying to get an internship or job in the future.
Overall, every high schooler should job shadow because it is a great opportunity. I have enjoyed everything about my internship at Communication Solutions and am truly grateful to Leza, Kellie, Jess, and Linda. They have introduced me to so much in the marketing and PR field and I cannot wait to learn more at college. Thank you Communication Solutions!
Isabella Thomas is from Huntingdon Valley, Pa., and enjoys hanging out with her friends and family, traveling, and listening to music. She will be attending Temple University this fall as a marketing major in the Honors Program at The Fox School of Business.