A Day In The Life Of An Intern With Cyntessa (Fall 2013)

A wise person once told me that though it is always an advantage to continue your education, the most important lessons will be learned while in the work place. They were more than right. I am only two months into my internship with The Garner Circle PR and I have learned and experienced a tremendous amount first-hand of what it is like working within the public relations industry. From the day  I came in to orientation, I was presented with responsibility and various tasks. Every day after has advanced my knowledge and skill sets that I will utilize in my career following the completion of my internship with The Garner Circle PR. For this particular post I will focus on the campaign Natural Goes Glam sponsored by our client Beautiful Textures.

Lead Junior Publicist
Campaign: Beautiful Textures (Strength of Nature) / Gentleman Jack Art, Beats, + Lyrics/ MBP Book Launch
Event: Natural Goes Glam

**Day Of The Event**
10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.: I arrive at the office with my grande white chocolate from Starbucks( love the Metro Ground  Coffee Shop but it's my weakness!). I set-up my work station in my usual place and gear up the tunes. I am the DJ of the office so it's something that I do on a daily basis to create a positive work environment.My first course of action is to finish any tasks that I haven't finished from the day before. Today, I have to print out worksheets that I made for the PRSSA Shadow Day students that are visiting the office today. I then proceed to check all of the Gmail accounts for any new emails from members of The Garner Circle team. More likely than not, there are some additions to be made to one of our many lists or correspondence between The Garner Circle and media outlets.

11:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m.-  I switch my attention to the Art, Beats, + Lyrics event. The goal for the number of media outlets that we want is 20-25. As of now, I am at 13. In the days prior to today, I have sent out media alerts that cover these types of events. As I review the media pitch list, I start to pull outlets that I haven't had any correspondence with. With my prepared pitch script I begin calling hoping to get an answer, which does not always happen. In the case that I do reach someone, I introduce myself and begin my script to try to get a confirmation. If the contact from the outlet does not answer I leave a voice mail. One important thing I've is to only leave once voice mail that has a clear message with contact information. Once I finish going through the pitch list, I begin to research any additional outlets that aren't on our lists.

1:00 p.m.- 2:30 p.m.:  During this time I dedicate myself to the MBP book launch set for next Monday. Out of all the events this is the hardest  one to find a variety of outlets for, especially in different cities. However, I put on my thinking cap and immense myself into research mode.

2:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.: Lunch! ( It's a Chick Fil-A  kind of day)

3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.: Switching gears back to tonight's event, Natural Goes Glam, I quickly study the brand briefing book that informs me of vendors, contact information, the run of show, and anything else that I need to know about tonight's event. If I have any questions I ask Eugenia or Nicole.

4:00 p.m.-4:45 p.m. : Our PRSSA Shadow Day students arrive! I for one am so excited because only a year ago, I was in their shoes. After doing introductions, I take over to discuss the handy dandy worksheet I created for them. On the worksheet it included tasks that we as interns perform on a daily basis as well as tips for the students. Once we have completed this and hand over the reigns to Eugenia, bid my farewells to the students, and head out to pick up signage for tonight.

5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Battling Atlanta's traffic is not a fun thing to do. However, with my new phone, the Galaxy S4,  I am offered a variety of short cuts to make the maneuvering easier and more efficient.  Despite the fact that I have been a bit tardy, I hate being late so this is like God's gift to me.

6:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m.:  On my way to the venue I make contact with all of our partnering vendors to introduce myself as the their contact for The Garner Circle tonight and to ensure that they were good to go on directions and other questions. I arrive at the Defoor Centre and begin setting up. Our Shadow Day students and my peer, Sabrina, show up to offer me help. To no surprise we had some hiccups, but we quickly resolved them before guests began to arrive. I delegate tasks to each volunteer we have and inform them about the product and prepare for anything else that may occur.

7:00 p.m.- 10:30 p.m.:- The event starts and we shift into work mode. Even though I have delegated tasks, I check in with my team and partner vendor, OMG booth, periodically to make sure everything runs smoothly within our booth. The majority of the night I am bringing guests and influencers to experience our "Glam Booth". Everyone LOVED it! The team did a wonderful job. To reward them I made sure to set aside little goodie bags to thank them for all the hard work.

10:30 p.m.- 11:00 p.m.: The volunteers and I break down the booth and prepare to go home. Before leaving I make sure the volunteers and OMG Booth are good to go and safely on their way  home before leaving the venue.

11:00 p.m.: My day has ended and I begin my journey back home. It's been a long, yet rewarding day in the life of a Garner Circle intern.

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