8 Life Lessons I Learned From My Summer Internship
This summer I had the amazing opportunity to work as a Graphic Design Intern at the city of Douglasville. On top of gaining design experience, I learned so many valuable life lessons. Since this was my first design related internship, it was a huge milestone for me. As I continue in my professional journey, I feel it’s important to document what I learn along the way, hoping that some of you might relate to these lessons or find them useful in the future.
Before we get into this article, let me provide you with some context. I started my internship this summer as a Graphic Design Intern in the Community Relations department at the city of Douglasville. Each day I worked on designing graphics for a myriad of city events. New requests flooded in every day and everything began moving at a very fast pace. Our department worked with every other department in the city to ensure they’re provided with quality promotional materials to advertise their events. Now that you have some background info, here are a few of the biggest lessons I’ve learned these past few months…
1. A Good Team Makes All the Difference
During my time at the city, I was able to witness all the moving parts and roles within the Community Relations department. Our vibrant team of about eight individuals, excluding myself, seamlessly worked together, executing projects and addressing requests as they came in. This excellent teamwork stemmed from two different aspects. First and foremost, our department had a well-structured and efficient task management system. With each new request or project, a ticket was created, complete with an assigned deadline and detailed outline. Second, each member of the team had distinctive expertise, which complemented others. This created an exceptionably talented and efficient team.
2. There is a Big Difference Between a Boss and a Leader
My supervisor explained this concept to me once and all I could think was, “That’s good, I’ve got to remember that.” Alas, here I am writing it down. It was very clear to me when I first started my internship that the people who were in charge exhibited qualities of great leaders. How they differentiated from a “boss” was that instead of telling people what to do they showed them and inspired them. The word “boss” has a negative connotation to it. When I think of a boss I think of someone in $10,00 dollar office chair spinning around and giving orders over the phone. When I imagine a leader I envision someone walking the halls of their building, getting their hands dirty when need be, and inspiring their staff to do their best. They create a workplace that people feel comfortable in and look forward to coming to.
3. Communication is Key
Being in the Community Relations Department it’s implied that communication is important. So of course, transparent and open communication was key. Effective communication between different departments made it easy to create graphics in a timely manner. This applies to everything, really. Some of the biggest problems in relationships, careers, and school can be solved through simple, efficient communication.
4. Good Customer Service Saves
It saves time, saves money, and saves everyone from being frustrated or overwhelmed. I observed problems arise and saw them quickly put out through a simple phone call. It’s so much easier for people to empathize with each other when hearing each others voices or seeing their faces. Not always of course, but usually. Lesson number three also plays a big part in customer service, but it goes both ways.
5. Diversity Drives Innovation
The design industry ardently preaches about the importance of having a diverse team to maximize creative, successful output. The department I worked with included racial and generational diversity. The diversity in our team was another reason I felt the team was so strong, creative team. It was interesting to see the difference in experiences and linguistic style between the different generations. Even entertaining at times. It gave me experience into empathizing and communicating with people who may not think the same way I do.
6. Ask Questions or Stay Lost
I’ve always understood the importance of asking questions, but this summer reminded me of how much easier it can be to ask questions when you’re not scared of being judged by others for being wrong. It’s okay to be unapologetically clueless, hopefully that’s rarely the case, but when you are, it’s best to just ask questions. No one can ever be expected to know everything and if you don’t ask questions how will you ever learn?
7. Just Because Something is “Fancy” Doesn’t Mean it’s the Best
I recently made a LinkedIn post about how Canva is the best tool for the department I work in. I was so used to using the Adobe Suite of products that when I started my internship and was told I’d be using Canva I was a little shocked. I then realized that was one of, if not the best option for my department because they needed something user friendly, accessible, and collaborative. If you’d like to read that post, here is the link, https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-scarbrough-b3484121b_designstudents-designschool-designlife-activity-7085203710645055488-wGqD?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
8. Reaching Out is Good For You
My capstone project for my internship was to collaborate on a marketing campaign with another intern that answers citizen’s frequently asked questions. To gain more insight into the inner workings of the city and collect information for content, we interviewed every city department. Through each interview I found myself becoming more confident in asking questions and engaging in conversation with these people who I had never met before. Even though we were required to do so, I’m glad that we were able to speak to so many people. If I hadn’t been able to have those conversations or interviews I would have never been exposed to all the wonderful personalities that make up the City of Douglasville. It was fun to me being able to connect with people, even if it was only for 15 minutes.
This summer I learned so many valuable lessons and got to exercise my creative muscles. These are just a few of the lesson I learned this summer. There have been so many more. It was an amazing experience overall and I can’t wait to see what adventures I experience next as I continue in my professional journey.