SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: My Internship With The NAACP

BY: MEAGHAN WASHINGTON

During the summer of 2010, for the first time in my life I was by myself. Not in the sense of being the only one in my dorm room or sitting by alone in the cafeteria. I mean I had no friends, no family, no support system, totally alone.

AND I LOVED IT!

This summer, I had the privilege of spending my time in the most illustrious, beautiful, entertaining, loving, culturally diverse and greatest city in the world, Washington, DC. I shared an apartment with three other women, made wonderful new  friends, established professional contacts and had the greatest time of my life!

However, amidst the socializing, I was in DC for a purpose. I had secured an internship with the nation’s oldest grassroots civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the majority of my days were filled with compiling articles, editing press releases, providing context for media stories, and anything else they needed me to do.

At first, I was nervous and worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the fast-paced communications world, but after a week I got the hang of it. My supervisor and the other communications associates were great mentors and teachers who showed me the ropes and the ins and outs of the business. I am not only eternally grateful I received such an opportunity to intern in the field I eventually want to conquer, but for an organization that paved the way for me and others of my generation to venture into the Public Relations realm.

Interning with the NAACP mentally and physically prepared for the tasks that come with a position in communications and gave me a sneak peek into the world I want to eventually be my life.

In the midst of the countless hours of media monitoring, editing releases, compiling blogger lists, constant surveillance on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, there was is an air that overwhelms me when I stop to realize that my first internship experience EVER was with this country’s oldest grassroots civil rights organization. However, when I realize I interned for an organization whose members fought and died for freedoms I tend to take for granted, it is the most rewarding feeling.