So, my first week as a (full time) Public Relations intern at The Wilderness Society (TWS) WA has come to an end, and I must say that it was one of the most overwhelming and insightful experiences I've ever had. First of all, I was very quickly confronted with the casual nature of the organisation and the way in which it operates. My initial expectations were thrown out the window as I realised that the organisational culture at TWS allows its employees and volunteers to work in an extremely friendly and down-to-earth manner. This was a very nice surprise and it helped me to get to know everyone i'm working with and has helped me feel very welcome in the office. I've learnt that TWS is comprised mainly of volunteers, and only a few paid staff, which means that there is a lot of pressure on community/volunteer organising within the company.
In terms of the work that I've been doing throughout the week: I've done a little bit of data-entry; I was given the task of drafting up an email that would be sent out to a list of approximately 5000 volunteers across WA, and I also re-designed an informational flyer about the Helena Aurora Range. To do this I had to learnt how to use Adobe In-Design which I quicked up relatively quickly and I'm very happy that I'll now be able to put this skill into my CV. Also, I have already been involved in the planning for a few major events that TWS will be holding in September and I've been told that I will be instrumental in organising an event to be held next month on World Environment Day. Planning and organising for this event will officially begin next week. I'm very excited about all of this and i'm incredibly grateful to have been included in such huge plans so early-on in my internship.
On Wednesday I was included in the team's staff meeting which allowed me to get to know each person's role a little better and listen to what they've been working on. It was also good to see how the team communicates with one-another and it was interesting to learn about how things are done in the office.
Overall, I'm incredibly happy with my placement at The Wilderness Society WA. Everyone in the office is incredibly nice and their passion about the environment is so inspiring. I've learnt that the doubts I had about my ability to practice PR are relatively unfounded because, after this week, I now know that I have the necessary skills to do well in this profession and I have a basis of knowledge that I can build upon through experience. I'm very excited about the work i'll be doing over the next 3 weeks and the experience i'll be able to gain from it all.
1 comment:
Hello Brooke,
your post has given me courage, cause i also thought that working in PR is really difficult and i did not know what to do so far. But i realised that if you do what you like, you will always be successful.
Also, when i did my internship in my country, Mauritius, i was planning to gain a lot of networks within my office itself. But unfortunately things did not go that way. You are really lucky to work in such an environment where people are down to earth. It is really important in PR, as even the internal communication must be effective.
I believe that the organisations' structure is quite different. Those who are on top of you in the organisation is very friendly but professional. AT my internship, they were friendly and professional too, but you coul feel that gap in between the employees.
Anyways, i believe that it is a real opportunity for you to now know the basics of in-design, that really important in PR, multitask.. May i wish you good luck for the future in your organisation and for the end of your semester.
Angie
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