If you’re a college student, chances are you’ll have to do an internship, either for credit or to gain experience in the field. I’m currently interning remotely for Asia Hall, CEO of Neon Cowboys, a line of lit Americana party products that light up and glow in the dark. While I’ve only been a public relations intern for a little over a month, I’ve already learned so much. Here are some of my recent highlights.
The process of pitching
Pitches are important in the public relations world. We all know this. Undergoing the process of pitching to the media and creating conversation is more surreal than words could express. I communicated with a writer from i-D magazine regarding an article she was writing and how the company I’m working with could fit perfectly. After a few emails and a phone interview, the article was published, highlighting the company in big ways. When they told me the article went up, I felt filled with excitement and such energy, because while my tasks seemed small, the results were clearly enormous.
Photoshoots
As I said, I work remotely. This means I get a handful of tasks all at once and I work on them weekly. This past week was completely different—I got to go into the office twice for two different photo shoots: a neon space cowgirl shoot and a western-wedding shoot. I had never shot in a studio before or worked with professional models, so I was extremely nervous. What’s so great about Neon Cowboys is the positive and creative atmosphere when creating art and content. Not to mention everyone at the shoots is super nice and hypes you up on the things you’re doing great at.
While shooting in the studio, I got the opportunity to play with lights and slowly started to understand where to place them, where to place the models and what setting my camera has to go in. I’m more used to shooting in nature, so when that portion came I had a blast since it’s my expert zone. Observing the process of creating a photo shoot and making it happen fascinates me and I hope to be scheduling and running one soon.
Not only did I get the opportunity to shoot models myself, but I also had the experience to shadow a great photographer and witness a different creative process. Photography is not as easy as it’s perceived and everyone who partakes in it does it differently. I definitely learned a lot from shadowing and contrasting his creative process with mine.
Praised for my talent
Not to sound completely egocentric or self-centered, but receiving validation and praise for your work is highly important. It lets you know you are doing a great job and motivates you to continue doing greatness. Everyone in the Neon Cowboys team is extremely talented and has been working in this field for years now. To receive compliments from them actually means a lot; it validates my work as good, in sync with the brand and professional.
To think I almost worked with this company a year ago makes me wonder about all the opportunities I didn’t embark upon, but it also makes me think of all the ones that I will be a part on. To me, this is all an internship should be about: learning every day, creating every day and growing every day. I’m very honored to be part of this amazing team and definitely thankful for Asia’s creative world, which she let me be part of.
You can follow Neon Cowboys or me on Instagram to view results from the photo shoots and others projects to come.