We all know that a summer in Champaign is like a rite of passage — one that everyone should go through before graduating and landing a big job. Laying out by the pool and heading out to Joe’s at night (without cover!) is something that everyone here at U of I should be part of. But what would all of this be without some spending money? An internship can be hard to come by these days, and finding one on campus can be pretty competitive.
This year, Catie Ruschak was able to make it happen. She keeps herself busy with various organizations during the school year, and she scored a leadership role for an internship right here on campus for the summer. Here she tells Her Campus how she is able to handle the responsibility of her internship, among other time commitments, and how she is able to make the most of the summertime campus.
HC: What organizations are you involved with on campus?
CR:I am heavily involved with the American Advertising Federation’s Professional Development committee. I write for and help run the organization’s blog, Ad Buzz. I also helped plan the AAF Business Etiquette Dinner this past April.
HC: How do you balance everything?
CR: AAF is a big commitment on top of classes and work. I have worked at T.I.S. College Bookstore for the last two years, so balancing that against everything else is probably the most difficult. In order to participate in some AAF functions, such as trips to Chicago and meetings, I have had to trade shifts at work and pull favors from friends. However, after taking a look at everything I plan to be involved in next year, I decided to leave my job at the store. It was a difficult decision, but I hope to earn a promotions internship or brand ambassador gig — something more related to my major. It’s hard to organize everything, but I live and breath by my iCal on my laptop. I got the iPhone 4 in February, so I transferred my calendar onto that and now whenever I learn of a new time commitment I immediately mark it in my iCal. It’s a real lifesaver.
HC: What company are you interning with this summer?
CR: I intern with University Directories. It’s basically a sales-side advertising and marketing internship, but at the same time it’s so much more than that. UD is a national company that hires interns from almost 200 schools across the country. It flew all the interns, totaling close to 600, to Chapel Hill, N.C. for a week of extensive training. Besides preparing us for the work we’ll face this summer, the trip gave us the opportunity to meet so many awesome people. I made new friends, from New Hampshire, Florida —everywhere. UD is an energetic company that really cares about its interns; the VP of Sales offered to help me practice my sales presentation. It was cool that someone so high up in the company wanted to be involved in my learning process.
HC: Is sales an area you would like to be involved with in the future?
CR: It depends on the circumstances — I’d love to work for UD when I graduate, actually. I’m already looking forward to next year’s training in North Carolina; I just can’t imagine NOT going back for it.
HC: What’s your favorite part about being in Champaign for the summer?
CR: I like that everything is so casual down here. I have a few of my really good friends staying the summer as well, and when we hang out it’s not so crowded we lose each other during the night. Also, I’ve been reconnecting with people I didn’t hang out with that much during the school year. I feel like people aren’t as busy during the summer, and it’s easy to run into people and end up hanging out for hours.
HC: What are you looking to the most for the summer?
CR: I can’t wait for when my sales team starts getting into the swing of things, selling ads every day and getting excited about it. I also value those trips home on the weekends, or visiting my new UD friends at schools like ISU and Western Michigan — and of course the nice tan I’ll have upon returning to classes in August.
HC wishes Catie the best of luck in her UD internship this summer – sell away!