Day in the Life of an Intern
Cimani Robinson
Spelman College
As a Junior Publicist for The Garner Circle PR summer 2011 I have learned many lessons about PR. One of the most important lessons is networking. As Mr. Daniel Dickey told me, “Always remember in PR maybe even more than most other industries, your network is your net worth". This particular skill was put to the test at the Savoy Women’s Leadership Conference on June 16, 2011. I’ll take you through my day at the women’s conference that was filled with influential women leaders and speakers, all of which I took a thought or inspirational lesson from.
7:00 am- Prepared for the day ahead, dressed and ran through my never-ending mental checklist (i.e. pack my laptop bag, review the conference brochure, and prepare navigational system).
8:30 am- The Garner Circle ladies, Nicole Garner and Eugenia Johnson, and myself met at the W Hotel for the conference, registered, and grabbed a quick bite of continental breakfast so we could be energized for the conference.
9:00 am - Welcome address was given and we were all encouraged to network and meet the other women sitting at our tables.
9:15 am - General Session: Shattering the Glass Ceiling, began with a panel of 4 women executives discussing some of their hardships being a woman of color in the business world. As each woman described her story they all spoke on being the woman who is willing to make sacrifices for her career whether that be working a job that no one wants, or traveling to another state or country.
10:15 am - We received a break and during this break I learned more about a few of the women sitting at our table and received a card from one of the ladies.
10:30 am - General Session: Mind, Body, and Soul with Dr. Iyanla Vanzant, best-selling author. Her session was quite empowering. She encouraged the conference of women to value each other and genuinely get to know one another, not just as businesswomen but as someone who holds the very value of a woman gently in each other’s hands. Dr. Vanzant also figuratively and literally spoke about wearing the skirt which will allow women to relax and relate to one another. Lastly she asked us to reflect on our grandmothers who we could not have come this far without.
11:30 am - After this General Session the conference was divided into several different workshops The Garner Circle Team divided and conquered. I attended Concurrent Session Workshop A: The Corporate Card Game. This workshop was presented by Candi Castleberry Singleton. In this session she discussed rules of the game of corporate America. Mrs. Singleton left us with this statement “It’s not who you know, it’s what they know and say about you. “
12: 30 pm - During the transition time to lunch The Garner Circle Team was reunited and Eugenia Johnson and I discussed what we learned in our session.
12:45 pm - Keynote speaker, Lisa Price CEO, and Founder of Carol’s Daughter spoke during the luncheon. She discussed being the best businesswoman you can be by realizing women can’t be perfect in all our roles all at the same time. She also spoke on still prospering in the business world even though you may not always be satisfied with the current state of your life.
1:45 pm- My last workshop for the day was Concurrent Session Workshop B: Building your Brand with Social Media. The Garner Circle team was in full force in this session learning from branding and social media professionals and experts. In this session I learned new methods for social media marketing as well as how to evaluate in what capacity is social media necessary to your personal brand or company brand.
2:45 pm- At the end of the workshop I was able to meet more post-graduate students and interns, some of whom I was able to further a relationship with because I had seen them at several of The Garner Circle events.
3:00 pm- Met with Nicole Garner and discussed final workday goals that still needed to be accomplished before the close of business. I was assigned to follow-up with media outlets from an event we had that week.
4:00 pm- Arrived home and accomplished my task list for the day as well as prepare for the following workday while keeping in mind all I had learned from my enriching experience at the Savoy Women’s Conference.
5 points from Conference
- Value your relationships with other African American women; use them for guidance, assistance, and role models.
- Networking can make all the difference, you just might meet someone with similar interest, and you never know what that business card could do for you 5 years from now.
- In the corporate world it is important to play the game, and sometimes that means grinning and bearing it so you can make sure you get in the position to help someone like you.
- Don’t forget to relax, and use deep breathes in moments of high stress
- Don’t set limits just because you feel obligated to your role as a woman. This could mean not considering child-rearing or marriage before it’s a factor and even deciding to work in another country. Go for it!
