So long, and thanks for all the fish.

It is the end, but also the beginning. The end of my internship with Meridian Services, and the beginning of a new phase in life, as someone who has the experience and knowledge of how public relations applies in 'the real world', outside of textbooks and classrooms.

The past 12 weeks have been a crash course in all-things PR and communications, with a minor in handling stress. From creating contacts and relationships to benefit the firm in the long-term (that is, long after I've moved on), to organising and being a part of the three-day BUSTED WA Roadshow, each and every task I've been left with have left their mark on the manner in which the company interacts with its stakeholder and how Meridian functions internally. As I mentioned before, nothing can function without the smallest piece; despite sometimes experiencing frustration at the seemingly endless minute tasks like putting together contact lists, I also got the satisfaction of witnessing my briefs and contacts being put to use with the frameworks of public relations plans being pieced together. 

Part of BUSTED WA's PR campaign against site crime

It's also been fascinating to watch how different departments interact with each other and how their actions influence the business as a whole. When presented with potential issues, the marketing department's response will be entirely different to that of the public relations department, but each can work together to  provide a more holistic, long-term solution.

Being mentored within such an environment has been so educational as to exactly how important effective public relations is to business success. The team at Meridian took me under their wing, and by dividing my tasks between the four main branches of the business created several opportunities to embrace challenges such as creating product fact sheets, updating social media, interacting with stakeholders through direct contact and email follow-up, writing briefs for conferences and meetings and even presenting to rooms full of stakeholders. The challenge was met only by the thrill of a job well done.

It has been such a pleasure to have completed an internship where not only my PR skills, but also my communication and critical thinking skills were consistently trialled and improved. Meridian's anti-cyber bullying, anti-poaching and anti-site crime initiatives (Space Safe Kidz, Chameleon and BUSTED, respectively) showed that my efforts were seeking to make the community around us a better place; there's not many other places where drafting an email-out can give you the same feeling of satisfaction!

 

To those who are still in the throes of their internship, all the best of luck! Be satisfied with who you are, be always reaching for the better result, consider what else you can do for your community.

Phoebe.